I talk a lot to my plants.
But if I put that in this conversation
they’re going to lock me up for five years...
in a straight jacket.
No, I do. You have to...
they also need to be motivated... warned...
The amazement of growth is what floors me.
If you see a seed germinating
and you see that first little crack in the soil.
A new leaf, a bud, a flower.
Something going dormant
and waking up again.
Life being born.
And understanding that we are actually such a small part
of something so much greater than us.
My grandad was a great gardener.
He had a respect for life.
He had a respect for plants. He saw it as an equal.
I had an incredibly close connection with my grandparents.
They taught me everything about love, life, beauty, respect.
They’re definitely responsible for the person that I am today.
They accepted me. They boosted me.
They held me. They motivated me.
Every now and again they chastised me...
but it was all because of love.
We take friendship and life for granted.
We should never do that.
Every day we should be grateful.
I used to phone them once a week...
I really regret not phoning them every day.
I wish I visited them more
in their latter few months of their lives...
that’s a regret.
But you know, one thing they taught me,
guilt and regret are two emotions
that you should never feed.
Because there’s nothing you can do about it.
So rather take that energy and push it into love and joy.
Because that’s an energy you can feed.
People ask me if I’m happy.
And then they ask me how do you do that?
And it’s a very difficult thing to explain because
one cannot always be happy the whole time.
You’ve got to go through dark phases,
you’ve got to go through dark spaces,
to be able to appreciate the joy on the other side more...
to appreciate the beauty more...
to appreciate your life more.
Good times come again.
There is a turn in the road
and you never know what’s on the other side.
But you’ve got to look forward to taking the turn.
We don’t know what’s around the corner.
So I don’t give that much thought.
There’s too much happening around me
simultaneously today
that I’ve got to look, see, talk,
worry, embrace,
pat, pet, live, love.
Tomorrow is its own mystery.
A thing that my grandmother said...
‘If you’re looking for the devil you’re going to find him.’
So rather not.
Look for the beauty because you’re going to find it.
They also wanted us to know there’s magic out there...
don’t be scared of it.
That the world can be beautiful...
you must just go and find it.
The moment I leave my gate I just think
WOW!
This is all mine for today to just enjoy.
Look at the clouds coming past.
Watch the sun come up.
Listen to a robin just before it gets dark.
There’s a lot in the world that can keep you in awe.
You must just go and find it
and you must recognise it
and drink it in.
It was very difficult in the beginning when they passed,
my grandparents.
But it’s part of a cycle.
And I think if you’re a gardener, coming back to gardening,
you get to understand that.
Compost and dead plant material feeds the next generation.
Which then reminded me as well of my vulnerability.
No matter what you do, your time is coming.
There is a time that you won’t be there.
So while you are here
do good, have fun, enjoy!
Sink it in. Soak it up. Live it!
(Do you miss them?)
I do.
I do, a lot.
I often just wish they could just see this...
what their love has created.
I would have given anything, on a day like today,
to hold both their hands and just walk through the garden.
But I also know that they are smiling at me every day...
because I can feel it.
And then you realise that love doesn’t have borders,
it doesn’t understand age.
It’s just perpetual and forever.
And doesn’t stop.
They used to say that the whole time...
that the most important thing is love.