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I have inherited a garden of rose bushes – wiry, woody and pest ridden. Arriving to my new house in the middle of winter meant the great unveiling of the colour and perfume of the rose would have to wait till the spring. A self-confessed novice, I began tending the roses, removing aphids and curly leaves. I read roses needed food, water and sunshine – easy enough, I thought. Roses are frost tolerant and hardy – great! That will work here, with evening temperatures throughout winter settling below zero.

Beauty for Beauty's Sake

As spring arrived, I awoke one morning to see a tiny bud on the bush outside my window and so began my exuberant quest to know and understand The Rose. Early on in my life, I thought flowers were pointless. Why would I want a garden full of pretties that didn’t provide food? I was practical, purposeful and there was no time for flowers that were simply just sitting around looking...

Ocean Visit ...

I have just spent time camping on Gunditjmara country at Port Fairy in Victoria. It was cold, it was wet and it was very windy. And Mother Nature was beautiful. I spent time on the beach watching the ocean being picked up and rolled by the wind. It felt like she was singing to me, telling me a story that was uniquely mine. I watched as the ocean formed waves of white foam and could see glimpses of crystal blue waters through the beautiful curve of each wave. There was a majesty and fierceness in the way the waves crashed into the water and a contrasting gentleness as the water breathed in and out of the rock pools. ‘You can be fierce. You can be gentle. And in all states, you are beautiful’ she sang to me. And I knew it to be true. There was a knowing of such depth that the Mother was indeed speaking to me through the wind and the water.

Deep Listening 

Moments like these are not foreign to me. I live...