For The Joy Of Growing

Growing your own food isn't just good for your belly, it's good for your soul. Read more here...

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'Good for the soul': This is how ambulance dispatcher Adam unwinds after a big week - ABC Everyday Being in nature, taking pause, moving the body and the opportunity for social connection — that's the perfect recipe for boosting our mental health.

Would you love to start a Kitchen Garden? Spring is a time of new life and a great opportunity for new projects. It’s the perfect time to get planting some herbs, leafy greens and vegetables. If you’d appreciate some help creating a beautiful and bountiful kitchen garden, we’d love to hear from you! Just email [email protected] or head to our website to find out more about our consultations at www.joyogrowing.com.au. We’ll have you eating delicious home grown produce in no time!

If you're wanting to create beautiful soil for your garden, AND reduce your food waste, maybe it's time to start a compost. Find some tips below to help you get started!

Cold Compost Tips and Tricks So you’ve decided that you want to make compost, but you want some tips to help you make that elusive “black gold”. WHAT YOU’LL NEED At least two compost bins, more if you four or more people in the house A sealed container/bin to store your “browns”, things like egg containers, brown ca...

Did you know that you can get two FREE native plants courtesy of Brisbane City Council? https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/green-home-and-community/sustainable-gardening/free-native-plants-program

Free Native Plants program Council’s Free Native Plants program offers a range of plants to assist you to plant and green your property. The native species provided through the program help grow our city’s urban forest and support local wildlife.

What Produce Can I Plant in Autumn in the Subtropics? Some people have the misconception that you can’t grow anything much during autumn and winter, but in the subtropics with temperatures remaining well above zero degrees Celsius there are all kinds of possibilities! Our so called “cold season” is actually better described as a cool season and i...

EASTER GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT. Congratulations Alison Collins! Keep an eye out for a PM to arrange delivery of your new book and Franki Gusti candle!

EASTER GIVEAWAY! It can be disheartening facing another lockdown in Brisbane but hopefully this might put a smile on your face....there is an Easter Gift Package to give away valued at $75! It includes the beautiful book "Green: Plants for small spaces indoors and out" which walks you through plant possibilities for small spaces, as well as styling tips and plant care advice. The gift package also includes a gorgeous Frankie Gusti Australiana soy candle inspired by native flora.

To go into the draw to win:

1. you must live within the Brisbane City Council area
2. tag someone below in the comments section who you think might enjoy this gift

Please note: if you tag someone only you go into the draw, if the person you tag wants to enter they need to tag someone else. The winner will be announced this Sunday!

Getting to harvest these beauties from the garden was such a joy! Can’t wait to taste them.

There are 2 FREE garden consults left to give away to the first two people who get in touch (must be used before the end of April). They are usually valued at $100 each. Comment "yes please!" below, call 0488 999135 or email [email protected] to claim your consult! To find out what's offered within a garden consultation visit www.joyofgrowing.com.au. Please feel free to share this post with friends and family 🙂

Now that the weather is finally cooling down it's the perfect time to get gardening 🙂. There are 5 FREE garden consultations this month to give away to the first five people who get in touch. This offer can extend to your family and friends too! To find out more about what's included in a consultation, get in touch on 0488 999 135 or visit www.joyofgrowing.com.au

Would you like to grow more of your favourite flowering plants in your garden? It’s that time of the year when many of the flowers that brightened our day during the summer months are going to seed. Once the flowers die, you can harvest the seeds inside the flower (just tear the flower apart to find them). Over time plants adapt to their environment, so by using seeds from your existing plants that are thriving, you have more chance of success than using bought seeds that were perhaps grown in a different environment. Let the seeds you harvest dry out in the shade and then put them in a packet in a dark dry environment. They usually keep for a couple of years. You can find out when the right time to plant the seeds will be by doing a simple search online. If you would like to go one step further and make your own seed packs – check out this clip from Project Diaries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I183eqdMoqw .

As the balmy summer months begin to draw to a close, it was a joy to notice a parting gift over the weekend - the first flush of midyim berries (aka. midgen berries). This bush tucker is a sweet delight on a hot day, and a perfect bluberry substitute. Native to Queensland and New South Wales, the midyim berry bush thrives in full sun to part shade and sandy soils. We have such a diverse range of native edibles in Australia, and growing them not only provides us with tasty local food, it supports native wildlife, often requires less watering and offers an invitation to learn more about our vast island home. If you are interested in growing native edibles, the midyim berry is wonderful place to start. For more guidance on selecting and growing a variety of bush tucker in your garden, you can book a consultation with For The Joy Of Growing. Just email [email protected] or call 0488999135 to schedule a time.

Amidst these uncertain times in Brisbane this weekend, you may appreciate something to warm your heart “The Beautiful Fantastic” is a charming film about opening up to life, taking chances, and transforming a garden. If you are a member of a local library you can watch it online for free via www.kanopy.com.

Kanopy - Stream Classic Cinema, Indie Film and Top Documentaries Watch over 30,000 Documentaries, Classic and Indie Films. On Desktop, Mobile and Roku for Students, Professors & Library Patrons

Would you like to be growing more vegetables? Of course many vegetables need a visit from a pollinator before they will set fruit, and there are few plants they seem to enjoy more than tulsi (holy basil). Ideal for the subtropics - tropics or during the warmer months in cooler climates tulsi grows an abundance of flowers - the bees can't get enough of it and it looks lovely! It's also helpful with digestion so a handy plant for your kitchen garden. It really is a plant that keeps on giving and it's incredibly hardy for those of us who don't manage to get into the garden on a daily basis!

Even if you don't grow vegetables, adding one of these to your garden is a wonderful way to support pollinators which sadly are on the decline due to loss of habitat, and use of agricultural chemicals. It really is such a joy to go into the garden and see bees, butterflies and all manner of other creatures enjoying the space alongside you. Happy Friday and happy weekend gardening everyone!

Would you like to be able to grow greens in summer? From late November to late March it can feel impossible to grow greens in the subtropics. Most of the traditional greens such as lettuce, English spinach and silverbeet can't handle the intense heat of the summer coupled with the high humidity. Thankfully there is a green that will thrive in these conditions - Brazilian Spinach! This curly leafed ground cover is delicious, and it's perennial so it will keep giving year after year although somewhat less productive during the colder months. It can be used in salads as a lettuce substitute or cooked in the same way you'd cook any other spinach, sautéed, used in risotto or curry or spanakopita. Just be mindful if you do use it as lettuce, like other types of spinach it has oxalic acid in it so best not to be eating it on a daily basis raw. Buy a seedling today, or even better take a cutting from someone who has one! If you would like some help creating a summer greens garden before Christmas, you might like to book a Garden Consultation with us. We can help you identify a range of greens suitable for your garden over the coming months and provide advice around growing, tending and harvesting - www.joyofgrowing.com.au.

Is there someone you'd like to share the joys of growing with this Christmas?

Perhaps there's someone special who would love to start a garden or appreciate advice around making changes to their existing garden. For just $120 you could give them a Garden Consultation Christmas Voucher and make their day!

Or maybe you know someone who would appreciate some help with the physical side of maintaining their garden. For $80 you can gift a Garden Maintenance Christmas Voucher which will give them 2 hours of support to reinvigorate their garden space leaving them with more time to simply enjoy it!

To find out more about our Garden Consultations and Garden Maintenance please visit www.joyofgrowing.com.au. To book a Christmas voucher today, contact Pia via email at [email protected] or call 0488999135.

A little sneak peak from our latest work - refreshing a cottage garden entry in Yeronga. We heavily pruned the tired looking abelia (in the middle), replenished the soil, and added a variety of flowering plants. The ground in front of the scooped garden bed was transformed from a compacted dusty clay dirt patch that flooded when it rained into another garden bed with ground cover grevilleas which will attract small native birds, improve drainage and look beautiful especially when the pink flowers are in bloom!

Welcome to For The Joy Of Growing's page! We want to connect you with the natural world right outside your door (the garden). Perhaps you're wanting to create a beautiful sanctuary away from your everyday life, or you want to learn to grow fresh healthy produce for your family, or you want to support local wildlife by growing natives. The garden offers something for everyone. Gardening is a wonderfully reciprocal act, as we tend and nurture a garden, we too are nurtured, and we more deeply understand the interdependence of all things.

We support people in their gardening adventures through garden consultations, workshops and offering garden maintenance throughout Brisbane, Australia. We're looking forward to exploring the joys of growing with you and hope you will share your experiences with us.

For The Joy Of Growing updated their information in their About section.