Cultivating Creativity

I recently completed a six week online course with Lillian Rose, called “Cultivating Creativity”. I clearly needed it, having not posted here since January couresty of the black dog blues.

Whilst the aim of the course was to kickstart my writing, it also influenced my gardening. I discovered that not only does one really does need a room of one’s own, but also a garden of one’s own.

At the end of last year I moved into a new rental property with a “garden” front and back. It wasn’t really a garden as such – it just had a very thick blanket of dandelions, their roots sinking down about 30-40 cm. And there was an enormous daisy bush near my back door and lots of ladybugs. The ladybugs were significant as that’s the name of my online writing group.

The first few months I spent removing the dandelions (back breaking work), then laying out thick sheets of newspapers which I covered with mulch. This I had repurposed from my local council’s Magic Pudding of Mulch Mountains. I used ti-tree logs (also repurposed from the tip) as borders for my garden beds. Then I just observed the garden and visualised how it might look in the future.

A few weeks’ later I discovered the Dying Plant Discount Table at my local Bunnings – poor dehydrated plants being tossed out for a mere dollar. (For those of you familiar with Game of Thrones, I’m the Melisandre necromancer of the plant world). I brought them home and revived them and let them become accustomed to my garden.

After about a week I had a clear picture of where these new plants should permanently sit in my garden. I enjoyed transplanting them from their plastic pots into their new home in my garden and over the course of a week watch them settle in and flourish. I liken it to writing – developing an idea, setting the foundation, observing, working out what goes where, and just doing a little bit each day and then watching as it grows and flourishes.

Perhaps some plants, like ideas, won’t flourish and then you have to start again. Perhaps some plants (again, like ideas), given the right environment, take off and take over!

So what have I learned ? Patience, perseverance and quiet contemplative observation are key in managing gardens and writing!