The beginnings of my garden

Growing up in the UK, my dad always had an allotment. It was next to the cricket club, and we would float between weekends of cricket and carrots. I remember hating the taste of the furry runner beans but loving the sweetness of the raspberries growing wild. It was part of life.

When I moved to Australia alone, it took a few years to settle with my Australian partner, and eventually, we bought a home in his hometown of Budgewoi, on the Central Coast of NSW. I first started my sewing business to provide cloth nappies for our son on a budget, which evolved into a passion for sustainability and low-waste choices. We have now become a disposable-free home, using all washables, reusables, and recyclables where possible. We renovated a vintage caravan into my sewing room, and I began making my safe space in the garden.

After our second son, this passion for a sustainable lifestyle expanded into the garden, and suddenly, I was brought back to memories of bathtubs full of rainwater, furry beans, and dirty carrots. My addiction had begun.

I started with the one area in my garden that had exposed soil. It shared the space with Murraya hedges, so I dug out the front section and planted my first edibles: potatoes and carrots. Next, I moved to another bed, then another, and then another. On every visit my parents made, my dad was roped into building my next garden bed for me.

My variety expanded to foods we would eat at dinner—green beans and peas—and slowly, I added more variety to encourage myself and my family to try new vegetables such as eggplant and silverbeet.

Five years on, I have plants from apples to zucchini, banana trees to sweetcorn, and carrots to peas. It’s addictive, it’s satisfying, it’s therapy.

And the best part? I get to combine my sewing with my garden—my philosophy of sustainability, consciousness, and passion. Low-waste living in all areas of my life. My sewing scraps become compost, spare fabric becomes grow bags, seed heads become decorations, and flowers become balms for my ever-working hands. Each year, my passion extends further—to collecting seeds, drying herbs, making relish, and canning food. The possibilities from one average-sized family garden are powerful.

I am not one for following patterns or pathways; I like to follow my heart.
I don’t worry about the where, what, and when
I throw things in the garden and see what comes. The hardest part about gardening is often throwing the first seeds. I hope my passion for reducing waste, saving money, and saving seeds has left you with the urge to start for yourself…