A different way to think about your Garden
With guest writer, artists and gardener Colleen Southwell
Rain is pitter pattering the tin roof tonight, it feels a huge relief even when it’s only been about a month. We have been fortunate here, not to have felt the pressure of the dry too keenly this year. All year I think I have been saying, ‘we have to take this moment for what it is,’ knowing that it will come to an end. I think in the last week things have begun to turn. And now its rained, extending the hope a bit further. Aside of that the garden (ahem weeds) is going bonkers, much of the holidays has been spent trying to get on top of it - and so tonight’s post seems appropriate. I’m forever in this push and pull with the garden, not enough time, not enough confidence, not enough care (this is all in my mind) - much of the time it seems insurmountable. These feelings are the backbone and driving force the problem I hope through the stories of others on my Garden Podcast.
“Gardens aren’t just places where plants grow, over time they become houses in our lives, safe spaces where we can gather, to celebrate, commiserate or just ‘be’. I see gardens as the memory keepers, and this podcast will explore that with some very personal stories from some very keen gardeners.”
This is the opening paragraph in the trailer episode of ‘Garden’ - released in May 2022 - meaning it’s been in the works for more than a year now*.
More will be coming to your ears soon I hope. One of our first guests will be artist and gardener from Orange, NSW, Colleen Southwell.
To me, Colleen is the embodiment of what we should aspire to in the practise of gardening. Someone who’s not in a hurry, who bends down to plants to look closely and observe growth or decline and who’s deeply connected to what she is creating in a garden. She’s the antithesis of what many see as the modern day garden; something that can be pulled together at great expense, look dramatically flashy only to be left as is, with little care for the evolution of the environment it creates around itself.
The relationship between Colleen and I has been quite a long running one. In fact, Colleen was one of my first guests on my first ever podcast, Company. In her episode we spoke about the beauty of gifting plants to friends and how it may be a beautiful thing to do for someone suffering through drought. After that I was treated to scones and tea on the veranda of Colleen’s house before I interviewed her in her studio for a Country Style article. Since this time we have remained strong supporters of each others work and good friends.