HOME PROJE CT by Kim Harris
The Maker’s State
@loveeatstay
JOURNEY TO THE GARDEN WITHIN M y love of gardening has been a slow burn but somewhat preordained when I think about it.
As a child my mother was often found working or watering in the garden on our semi-rural property.
I remember times when Mum had put a lot of work into the garden – if she was happy with the results, Mum would enter the roses in the local garden competition. Perhaps mum was somewhat obsessive about growing roses, I assumed every house had 30 rose bushes! Roses lined every garden bed – white, pink, red, yellow, lilac, candy stripped - roses climbing over arches that my father had built for her. I loved the archways: They felt like a portal to another world and were fun to climb as a child.
I have never really understood Mum’s love affair with roses, but I do fondly remember the amazing scent of certain rose varieties and the thick velvety feel of the massive petals. I would playfully pull off the petals one by one, then tear apart the centre filament and hip – dissecting the delicate anatomy. It was fascinating. It was exciting pulling big scary thorns off the stems on the bush. The bushes varied in size, but I recall them to be big, taller than me and with thorns around one centimetre. I would pinch the thorn on a certain angle, hopefully get a clean thorn removal. If I did correctly, I could achieve a perfectly smooth extraction and not damage the stem. It was very satisfying. I don’t remember ever getting spiked by the big thorns. It was the little sneaky ones that caught you unaware.
I did notice the beauty of Mum’s roses when they were in bloom, but I find it hard to look past the off season when the stems all stand thorny, sad & baron, without even a leaf. Looking almost dead. Gardening started with Mum’s roses then lay dormant until I bought my first home in Townsville.
I wasn’t really into gardening, but probably more so than most other 23-year-olds. I planted mainly tropical plants like ginger and various heliconias, low maintenance, which mostly looked after themselves, growing quickly in the tropical conditions. I got adventurous and planted a night jasmine at the
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entrance to the house which had a distinctive sweet and strong scent. I can still picture and smell it! The location in which I grew the Jasmine wasn’t great in hindsight, but I was 23 and having a go at playing house. After selling the Townsville home, I moved to the other end of the country settling in Melbourne. A different state with unique climate to match. Gardening was nothing like in the tropics. It was time for a beginner’s mind - again. Starting a family, and doing a renovation left not much time to plan a garden. The yard was really ordinary and needed lots of work.
I would see plants at the nursery I liked and planted wherever I could find a spot which was a recipe for plant murdering right there! Hydrangeas, palms, strawberries were sacrificed in the lesson of learning.
As the years rolled on with two little kids running around I planted dwarf citrus trees, passionfruit vines and an olive tree. Fruit trees are wonderful if you have young children. Picking fruit from the tree is rewarding. Like any fruit tree, citrus requires lots of tender loving care and water. Homegrown sometimes tastes bitter, but you grew it, so you eat and pretend to like it. Children often aren’t as courteous! The front driveway needed redesigning and replacing, which made way for my first garden space that was bare bones. Excited and nervous I asked for advice at my local nursery. I love nursery folk. They are my people. I learn so much from talking to people at the nursery. Workers are usually busting with knowledge and plant passion. They definitely want to share with anyone that will listen.
Sparks of love for gardening started here. Designing a garden from scratch was really rewarding to me. I decided to use mostly Australian natives which I didn’t know much about. I was learning fast. Having a vision to utilise distinct height variations, colours, textures and alternate flowering times makes for orchestra which you essentially plant and play. The Melbourne summer can be brutal on non-established plants with temperatures soaring to nearly 45 degrees. This kind of heat quickly kills plants that don’t receive enough water, shade, or attention. After killing a few plants, I installed irrigation which really was great in the summer.
