Another Forking Garden

As the year rounds to a close and the nights draw in, many feel that all-so-familiar sensation of shrouding over our motivation and a subtle dimming on the spark for creativity. 

If your passion dwells within the confines of your garden, blooming and buzzing amongst a sea of velvet petals, scuttling along the fence lines, gleaming and glittering under the warmth of springtime sun; take a moment to remember that a dormancy period is essential, not just for the flora and fauna – but the curator, too.

As guardians of the garden, this important aspect in our community is often overlooked – and no wonder! Spending almost every available moment between spring and autumn utilizing the growing season, unavoidable disappointment sets in after a season of rapid changes, progress development and exciting new life in full swing can be a huge contrast shock when growth slows, perennials crumple away, and vegetable options become fewer and fewer. 

Over the cold winter months, the exterior appears to be defeated – a similarity some of us might relate to, ourselves! However, beneath the slumped stems and frost-glittered topsoil, the magic of preparation and preservation is underway. 

While we often imagine progression as a linear process, nature reliably demonstrates how our growth and strength can quietly burrow in a web of directions, providing the momentum to break through and blossom stronger than ever in the later months. 

This year, treat yourself how you’d treat your garden. Allow time to rest parts of yourself that have been working tirelessly all year round. Avoid working against nature by forcing motion where energy isn’t needed – focus on parts of yourself that can contribute to the year ahead, building your roots and strength for a beautiful breakthrough, and importantly, facilitating a strong start to the year. 

And if you crave creativity, need a distraction, or find yourself twiddling your green thumbs in anticipation and can’t bear to take a break; look to other areas of development to enhance your gardening experience! Search online communities for ideas and connection, plan overwinter crafting projects from this year’s harvest, make a crop plan for your beds, learn how to preserve, dehydrate, braid, weave, pickle, repurpose, compost, propagate – the opportunities for learning are infinite. Whether you’ve spent the year crafting and upskilling, or weeding and trimming, there are so many creative minds ticking away on new and innovative ways to grow and utilize nature – being a part of that can be so rewarding and beneficial, you may even find you’ll discover something new.

In this blog, I’ll be demonstrating how gardening can transform your mentality and day-to-day life, discussing topics and trialing different methods, revealing how we can collaborate with our little garden dwellers, providing crafting ideas for gifting, art and everyday use, and of course; providing tips on realistic ways of producing all-year-round produce for your kitchen, pantry and bathroom. Whether you’re new to gardening, moving into a new home, wanting to discover something new, struggling to balance work with the garden, or simply want to be involved in more of a community-based gardening hobby; this is the blog for you!