Category Nurture

Science is starting to catch up with what gardeners already know – growing food and caring for a garden is hugely beneficial for the body, mind and spirit.

Humans are by nature inclined to repeat their practices. It keeps us calm, builds confidence and assures us of who we are. We challenge, question, encourage and participate in the activities that lift us up and fill our cup. This is ritual.

The upheaval of the past two years has had many people contemplating making a change. Whether it be a tree change, a career switch or something personal, it can be tricky to translate that hope into reality.

We all dream of planning grand adventures. Of making lists, of packing, saddling up and setting off to create memories that will last a lifetime. But now more than ever, human lives are busy and complicated. As well as work pressures, there’s more often than not other lives – human or otherwise – which rely on our inputs and which impede on the realities of being able to get away for much longer than a day or two. And that’s before we take into account the travel restrictions. But what if we could all look at our current situations as an opportunity to make realistic plans for adventures that still give us the mental nourishment of ‘getting away’. Adventures that can also support our many local communities still suffering the economic consequences of bushfires and lockdowns.

One of the most important things to keep us healthy in both body and mind is sleep. But as we strive to juggle families, work and living clean and sustainable lives, the amount of sleep we get is easy to neglect and its quality is often the first thing to suffer.

Growing your own medicinal garden is easy and the benefits of having fresh herbs on hand – both medicinal and edible – are immeasurable. It’s difficult to know the age and viability of dried herbs, so growing varieties which are suited to both your climate and soil conditions will ensure you have the highest chance of gaining the best therapeutic and culinary outcomes.

Indoor plants are a quick and easy way to bring your garden and the beauty of nature into your home. They can visually appeal, with variegated leaves and sometimes stunning floral displays that are unique to indoor plants. They can also improve the health of your home.

Hands up if you’re feeling a bit helpless in the face of climate change? It seems our governments are doing little to help, our pleas for change are falling on deaf ears; and big business and greed seem to have more say than good people caring for the Earth. Don’t be disheartened though. Activism comes in many forms and there are many ways we can help heal the planet.

It’s not uncommon for bathroom benches and shower recesses to be filled with plastic bottles: bottles for shampoos and conditioners, hair treatments, face washes, toners, moisturisers, deodorants … and that’s just the basic products! Then there are all the other lotions and potions that promise great things and claim to have unique properties that will keep your face looking younger, your skin supple and your hair shiny.