Does anyone do any gardening for mental health?
Gardening Australia is having a special show for Mental As, which is specifcally about gardening and mental health.
Would love to hear from some gardners, or even people who just enjoy being in gardens. Would love to see some pics if anyone want to share!
@Appleblossom @Abiel @Charli @chookmojo @Mazarita (apologies if you are not a gardener, just taking a stab in the dark).
Last year I started a small veggie and herb garden using polstyrene boxes full of good quality potting mix, up on a counter so they were at waist height. As I have a physical injury that make sit dificult to bend or kneel down - this seemed like a good solution. I grew lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chives, parsley and perrenial spinach. It was great to be able to make my own salads from my own garden. I find myself feeling very peaceful tending it.
It went to wrack and ruin eventually and is sitting there now barren and empty except the parlsey which you can't hurt it with a stick (or neglect apparently!). So I am gearing up (not being in a hypo you can't rush these things... 
) to replant soon with lettuce, rocket, chives... coriander etc.
A big plan on the drawing board is the back yard - it was demolished by 12 years of two gbig dogs, now sadly passed on, and is need of some tender loving care. Planning a purple and white themed garden with a meandering path and nice places to sit in peace.
Will share my veggie-patch once I get it going! This has been a great prompt and motivator - get out and replant and start tending again!
@MoonGal I have been working on my backyard for the last three years, we pretty much took out everything that was there apart from one Gumtree, which blew down in a storm. We Put in purple and white Happy wanderer vines on all the fences and now have a tremendous 'hedge' that stays free and year and flowers profusely in winter. I just pruned it today and for all my snipping and mountains of off cuts on the ground it hasn't even made a dent in the vines!
I dont have a picture of my yard on the tablet that I am using, but this is what hardenbergia looks like.
Three years in it is really starting to come together and look good, just waiting for the trees to grow a bit, but the hedging brought much needed greenery in very quickly. Birds and bees love it too.
My vegie garden (not planted out yet I am behind schedule) consists of six orchard boxes converted into raised wicking beds. They're pretty great except I have not been able to grow good tomatoes in them in three years so that is my challenge, getting decent tomatoes. We did have one chook sown bush that was fantastic which came up in the herb garden but the damn things won't grow in the vegie garden no matter where I put them.