I push open the old steel gate and skip down the stepping stones into Ma Ma’s garden. You’ve never seen a garden with so many different plants! On the right is a weeping cherry tree with a stone buddha underneath, on the left is a bright corridor leading to a galaxy of fern and succulents. In the middle there is a huge grassy area where I like to kick the ball for the dogs.
But I know where I’ll find Ma Ma! Around the back, planting some bulbs. Daffodils, irises, tulips – she’s never met a bulb that she doesn’t like. I really like helping in her garden, mulching and climbing to the top of the old water tank to prune the ivy. After we finish out the back, we head past the statue of the gargoyle with a broken wing, and the giant metal sculpture of a puffin, to the veggie patch.
This spot is HUGE! There are beds full of spinach, cucumber vines, tomatoes and radishes. Down the back is an old chicken coop that has seen better days. And in front of that is a compost barrel, which needs both of us just to turn it. On our way to pick some dahlias, we pass the fruit trees in old wine barrels – oranges, limes and lemons that grow bigger than my hand!
We stroll up the gravel path passing the garden full of native flowers. Everything is blooming and there are bees buzzing everywhere. I really hope they take the pollen back to my brother’s flow hive so we get lots of honey.
We finally make it to the bed of dahlias underneath the old wattle trees. These flowers are Ma Ma’s pride and joy; she has them in every colour imaginable – red, yellow, peach. You get the picture! We cut two buckets full of dahlias and head back to the house.
It’s been a long day of gardening so we decide to make a cup of tea and drink it under the cherry tree. I look around to see what to do next: cutting the grass, pruning the plants, pulling out weeds. But first I think I will pick the lemons. I start by taking the cups back to the kitchen and getting a basket. On my way out I notice one of the indoor plants need some water Oh that’s right, I forgot to tell you about the garden in her living room! Forty-five plants in her living room!!
But that’s a story for another day…
Henry Blacklow, Year 6, Orange Public School