Gardening

In the midst of a deathly, monotone winter, life is getting ready to burst out – including the narcissists of the plant world.

The moth vine casts its shadow over the garden, from which the author manages to salvage a benediction.

What began as a fresh and neatly paved area transformed over the years into a lived space of success, failure and memory.

The gardening media has no place for the compromised gardener, who finds beauty in ugliness, bounty in neglect and hope in the unruly silverbeet.

From a Melbourne backyard to community cultivation in Manila’s slums, the garden offers autonomy, human connection and a firmer footing in a turbulent world.

The same restless energy and wildness that stirred the pilgrims is alive in the gardens of inner-city Melbourne.

A reflection on the lilies of Galilee, the orchid of the building site and the karmic power of poo bags.

A toxic plant, allowed to thrive due to wilful ignorance, becomes an invading force that threatens to take root beyond the borders of one small urban garden.

With summer in full flight and Christmas just around the corner, the gardener’s guilt is also reaching its zenith.

It’s time to start raising tomatoes – and take a punt on warmer weather to plant them out in November.