In the midst of my blackest depression last week I was barely putting one foot in front of the other. Seeing that, my darling husband put his bike plans on hold and got me into the garden. Bowerbirds singing, sun shining, chooks chooking, hands in the wormy dirt - now that's something that can keep the worst of it at bay.

See that little wood fence there? We had some scraps of cedar that were too little and bitsy for anything but burning, so we added them for a kind of sculptural back drop effect. I also planted a peppermint in the corten steel round where the nasturiums are climbing up. The other corten strip was spare so we also used that as a little backdrop on top of the uglier pine.

It's nice we have got to the point where we are thinking about little aesthetic touches and not just the main beds, weeding and edging.

This next bit is one of those cases where the wife asks for something and the husband takes so long to get to it that she starts it herself so that he HAS to finish it. I wanted to weed around the olive, level up the ground a bit and add nutrients to the soil in the form of manure and chook straw which olives love. It just looks more cared for. I did the weeding and Jamie moved the free rocks.

He also dug up the path so it was more level and added a corten strip to separate the back garden from the top garden. The garden is slightly sloped which adds some interest.

I planted a couple more lavender - how is this CRAZY double lavender? Never seen a flower head like it! Last year we had hardly any bees - this year we have heaps already just from borage, lavender and calendula!

The freesias grow like weeds around the neighbourhood - these popped up in the front garden. They are very cheery and I'm hoping we will get more.

I did have to move some grasses as these giant rats aka kangaroos were enjoying munching on them. You can't get mad at a kangaroo can you, especially with a joey in it's pouch.

I also planted some of these yellow native flowers - they are so cheery. I had them in my last place and loved their colour in the spring.

Potatoes are also coming up - I'm adding more soil/compost and straw to build them up as they grow. Seems silly when I get potatoes for virtually free from the local food charity but homegrown tastes so good that I couldn't resist.

I can't believe that a year on, I'm not even thinking about the old garden. In many ways, this bit of suburbia is way better than the other one - easier to manage, but also a better growing season in this warm temperate area. So good.

Well, time to go have a bath - after a surf this morning and some gardening I'm absolutely knackered. I have to say though, if you're feeling down, go do some gardening. Plant something. Dig something. Observe nature. Breath in the fresh air. It'll get better, at least for a little while.

With Love,