My appreciation for flowers and gardening came from my inspiring grandmother Hester, who always had little cuttings and plants sitting in tins and bottles to strike the roots and my beautiful kind mother Helen, who followed in her footsteps, taught me so much about nature, looking at things from a different perspective, gardening, love and life.
My earliest memory of floristry started when i was very young.
My mother would let my sister and I pick any flowers that were in bloom to decorate a saucer for the local show. Mum would put sand on the saucer, and we would spend hours in the garden searching for flowers and being inspired, to create our own masterpiece.
Growing up in the Wimmera, in Victoria, on a broad-acre wheat farm, the water was scarce at times which made it very challenging for my mother to have a classic English garden which everyone strived for.
It was here that my eyes were opened.
Learning about water saving plants such as succulents, and Australian natives-the different textures and colours can still create a playgound of fun.
Geraniums were a special favourite of mine, as the the petals fitted perfectly on the ends of my fingers making long colourful fingernails.
Imagination and creativity are the building blocks for life.
“The kiss of the sun for pardon,
the song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer Gods heart in a garden,
than anywhere else on earth”
Anomynous.
