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Unknown userMember
A SOS to any green thumbs out there
I have always found gardening to be therapeutic and it has given me great joy. However, after a major crisis with Mr Darcy's health I have not had been able to get back into it. Have other gardeners suffered from a similar hiatus and how have you recovered and got going again?
Darcy
PS have a spot that needs filling any recommendations for a 1m high cool climate white flower plant?
In response to: Self care by growing a garden
SmcSenior Contributor
@Adge, I can so relate to that.
I've lost more plants than I like to remember due to being so busy/stressed/depressed that I either couldn't find the energy to see to things, or simply forgot. A day or two of forgetting to water in summer can be disastrous.
I'm trying to make an effort now to get the garden more productive again, because I know that despite the emotional inertia I'm fighting, getting out there does me a lot of good. The "tough survivors" kind of give me encouragement that I've still got the "good bones" in place ready to be filled out again.
In response to: Re: Self care by growing a garden
AdgeSenior Contributor
I saw Strawflowers in your picture @Smc I love strawflowers, I used to grow them years ago.
They're like a big everlasting daisy, with really tough flower-heads that you can keep as dried flowers...
They're easy to grow from seed too. I even collected the seeds from the finished (old) flowers, & planted them.
I had several year's worth (several generations) of them, that way...
Adge
In response to: Self care by growing a garden
CheerBearSenior Contributor
In response to: Re: Self care by growing a garden
AdgeSenior Contributor
Rosemary is very tough (drought hardy), once it's established. I've still got 2 Rosemary bushes, one with pink flowers, & one with blue.
The leaves smell lovely when you crush them between your fingers. Technically rosemary is a herb, although I've never used it for cooking.
Olive trees are really tough & drought-hardy too, although they're very slow growing. I've got 2 small olive trees, that have not grown a lot in 10 years....
Lavender is another tough plant with a lovely smell, & pretty flowers. Unfortunately none of my Lavenders seem to survive (I've been through quite a few)...
Adge
In response to: Self care by growing a garden
Unknown userMember
In response to: Self care by growing a garden
Unknown userMember
In response to: Self care by growing a garden
Unknown userMember
In response to: Re: Self care by growing a garden
AppleblossomSenior Contributor
I have been making a lot of rosemary tea lately, better than wasting it. It needs to be well stewed, but apparently is a good tonic for the gut. I keep a pot on stove for a couple of days and have less instant coffee so thats another plus.
Yes @Former-Member it was a good day and puss is sitting on my arm as I type.
Will fall into bed soon with a good book
In response to: Re: Self care by growing a garden
SmcSenior Contributor
@Adge, the flowers in
the picture are calendulas, but you're right, they do look like strawflowers. I havent' grown those for a long time, but it so happens that I've currently got one in a pot waiting to go into the garden. Only one now... maybe many next year? 🙂
I've found that the most hardy lavender is Lavandula dentata "Allardii", aka Mitcham Lavender. It grows bigger than most types of lavender, needs a good haircut in autumn so that it doesn't get woody, but mine have kept growing and flowering through "droughts and flooding rains".
In response to: Re: Self care by growing a garden
AdgeSenior Contributor
You might get seeds from your Strawflower @Smc, & be able to plant them for next season. That would be great.
I did that with sweet peas years ago too, & I had more & more of them growing for years - just from re seeding them.
My Bull Banksia has spectacular yellow Banksia flowers on it at the moment. It took close to 10 years before it started flowering.
Banksias can be hard to grow, & to get established. That's the only Banksia I've ever planted, that's survived.
It's now over 4 metres high, though slender & not taking up much ground space at all.
The honeyeaters absolutely love the Banksia (& Grevillea) flowers. They were drinking nectar out of the flowers yesterday afternoon.
Adge
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Help us push aside the stigma and discrimination surrounding complex mental health and change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.
SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
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