4 of 99

by C McNamara

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Once a gardener...

I used to be a fine gardener in my young energetic days at University, if I don't say so myself! I was one of those students who studied just enough to gain credits or higher, but didn't chain myself to my second hand pine desk. There were more interesting things to do.

Thankfully I was attending a Uni located on the warm coast of New South Wales. The lush semi-tropical coast - a true gardener's haven in this dry hot country of Australia. We received plenty of rain, regular rain which was a god send in a country whose climate outlook is normally, for the most, dry, hot, dry, hot, sunny and dry. I planted my seedlings, heck I even raised a few seedlings from seed! I collected cow manure from surrounding properties (I always managed to live in an old 'Queenslander' at Uni, rather than in the dorms) and spread the rich dank substance fairly and ethically around my little vegetables. My lovely sweet tomatoes, my crunchy lettuce, my spiteful rocket and my vibrant spinach. Oh, life was good and healthy!

Money was, of course, quite an issue back then when my text books cost nearly my fortnightly allowance. Hence, turning to Mother Earth for some of my food supplies, was a smart thing to do. Before too long I had many of my friends doing the same, and for a short time we knew a world akin to Utopia.

Well, that was over 15 years ago. During this time I moved south from the lush wet beauty of the north coast to the capital of Australia, Canberra. The soil is pale here, the rain is infrequent, and there is dust dust dust on the winds blowing in from the Brindabella Ranges. I left my creative nurturing gardening days behind and settled down to be an upstanding public servant dedicated to serving the government of the day.

Life has been good, I've been earning good money and I've been working in an interesting area close to my heart, environmental protection. I even got married to a fellow public servant. Now he also used to be a fine gardener, and he even tries quite regularly to encourage a garden, any kind of garden, as long as it's green and alive.

The predominant reason that occurred to me through my time in Parch-City for my lack of gardening enthusiasm was that it all seemed just so much harder now, this growing of vegetables and this landscaping stuff. I shifted the blame for this on my aging body; the feeling that I'm just not quite as young and energetic as I used to be, as well as the harsh environment where we live which makes it somewhat nearly impossible to raise any sort of plant. I've even killed a succulent (sorry little cactus, it wasn't you, it was me!).

And then, out of the hot blue sky, I found some inspiration. Don't ask me where, but it came to me a few weekends ago. It may have been from watching my husband unerringly digging away and applying fertilizer. He does look quite nice in his work wear, such a contrast to the suit and tie...

My inspiration may have also come from the rising cost of fruit and vegetables. Or it might have just come from my little internal leaf that somehow managed to flip. I thought, hey - I'm still young! I'm only 36. All it takes is hard work!

So I contrast my head-space, my body and my enthusiasm now with my Uni days and I think I've been much too hard on myself. My Uni garden didn't really have much help at all beyond the initial planting, applying cow manure and the frequent patch of rain. It was an easy garden to grow, and it mostly took care of itself. Whereas my Canberra garden needs love and attention. It needs regular maintenance and lots of water. It needs energy, which I now have thanks to...well... thanks to gardening! We've installed a rain water tank to capture those few and far between raindrops to get us through the dry times, and I now feel like I'm the suburban expert on mulch. My concept of 'nurturing' has also changed significantly, and I now know that life was easy for my vigorous and spiteful rocket of my Uni days; my shy and tentative rocket requires much more coaxing now.

This year has certainly turned around for me. I've reclaimed my inner creativity and have a well established little productive patch. I'm much more fit and energetic, and while I'm no longer 19, my husband assures me I still look pretty good in my gardening shorts. And we saw the culmination of our efforts recently when we prepared an al fresco dinner party starring ingredients freshly plucked from our vege patch basil pesto pasta, bruchetta, tabouli, baba ganouch, quiche - yum! Life is good and healthy. And fun. And happy, and crunchy...

Learn more about this author, C McNamara.

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