THE curtain falls today on the spring/summer series of Sunraysia’s best gardens.
I was inspired to start this page after catching the gardening bug during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Based on the feedback we’ve had since the series started in early October, I wasn’t the only one to fall under the gardening spell.
For many years, my main interest in mowing the lawn and pruning – aside from making the joint look presentable – was to work up a hard-earned thirst.
But with more time on our hands between March and September last year, I found myself gardening for up to five hours a day.
I was living (and doing some freelance work) on the New South Wales Mid North Coast for the first half of 2020 before I rejoined Sunraysia Daily in late August, after a previous stint here from 2012-early 2015.
It was during the first COVID crunch that my love of gardening blossomed.
By the time I left the family home at Shelly Beach on August 28, there was barely a blade of grass out of place, hedges were immaculately manicured and most plants and trees had a suitable haircut in preparation for the spring growing season.
On reflection, I became obsessed with gardening in 2020. I also became much more water-wise during a lean period of rainfall.
However, by the end of the first lockdown, I’d run out of things to do in our garden. So I knocked on the doors of two elderly neighbours and they happily agreed to let me clean up their gardens and improve the condition of their lawn.
I went through a five-step process of lawn revival on each of their properties.
The weeding was the first part, and the toughest. Then came the dethatching (getting rid of the dead grass that thwarts any water/rain from getting into the soil) and aerating the lawn.
The results started to come in the next step after applying the top soil (with a sprinkling of Charlie Carp on top) and watering.
Boom! Greener, lusher grass within a fortnight.
I’ve since repeated this process where I’m living in Mildura. And it’s worked just as well.
While 2020 was mostly a year to forget, the silver lining for many people – including myself – has been finding great solace in the garden.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve entered “the zone”, a transcendent state of mind that takes you to a magical and spiritual place, as I’ve pottered around in the front and back yards.
I sadly lost my brother to liver cancer just over a year ago. My grieving for him was done in the garden.
There have been plenty of tears – but also many happy memories while I’ve been mowing or pruning.
I also had some wonderful moments in the garden last year with my 79-year-old mother.
She made sure I didn’t shirk the task at hand (which she’s more than entitled to do), but we also spoke about my brother and reflected on other times in our lives.
They will be moments I’ll treasure forever. And they all happened in the garden.
We’ll hopefully return for an autumn series of Sunraysia’s best gardens.
If you have a gardening story you’d like to share in the coming months, along with allowing us to take some photos, feel free to email me at mtaylor@sunraysiadaily.com.au.
