so I think I have to get rid of all this.. So I have space to put a banana boat down there & get the sun & put a couple maybe some herbs or something & downstairs it’s cats-galore & everything gets ruined. Oh look something is falling off! It was a beautiful orchid. It’s mauve with a gentle perfume & it has a little cross in the middle. The most beautiful gentle thing. It is Australian orchid a tiny little one & when I first saw it. Anyway I am yakking on.. I love plants. Put it that way. I should do a horticulture course. It’s all been a bit of a hassle here. I don’t think places like this work. People over fifty-five like what is over fifty-five? This sort of time thing. See what happens is. The housing department have funny ideas. See these window things? These are very much a Brisbane style. The person who built this place the bricks are all wrong. You don’t want to hear all the nonsense that has happened with this place but what has happened with this place is.. When the hail storm came. It went through everything. No repairs. Not repaired properly &.. The water runs through. I give the plants a little bit of water everyday. That kind of thing. But what I do in the morning is relax & I do my deep breathing. I didn’t do much today. I did more thinking & moving & massaging my legs. Ever since I had my heart attack I’ve been taking all these pills. The beauty that the plants have.. Like this for instance this one here is from a garden. This is a little plant is for arthritis. If you have arthritis there isn’t much you can do about it. But this plant helps. All green plants. All rich green things are good. The one in front is a sage & you can’t eat that. It’s for burning & it makes a nice smell. Are you taking all of this down? Oh my gosh! Yeah so that’s what I like about plants. They are a living thing. I believe it is the first thing that arrived on the planet once it all stopped & it settled down & became an amazing planet. I think it is the first thing to arrive. Yes it is frustrating because I haven’t got space.. But I do enjoy it. I am happy. The word is happiness & I really need a garden where I can transfer plants. You need space. Because if you are going to have a plant you gotta give.. It takes over. Everything has to be cared for & you can’t care for it on top of a place like this. You need a plan & you have to have money. Well yes.. Well I water at night. It depends. Often I water twice a day depending on the weather & I have this little spray thing here & that is a watering can. Yeah I water at the same time everyday it is sort of.. As it comes. It is usually first thing in the morning I come out & say hello to the plants. Say hello & I.. I have a chat. Yeah. Yes. I have always grown plants from an early age. My father had a market garden. Dad’s family came from Portugal. Or the islands off Portugal. There is nothing written down anywhere. It was a market about an acre maybe a couple of acres. & he grew all vegetables & he liked flowers too. I can remember gathering all the artichokes & playing with them. Jerusalem artichokes. They are funny things. Lot of greens & reds & orange. Well also Mum loved a garden with her flowers & everything. We had apples & pears & apricots & raspberries. Everything growing in the garden because that’s how it was in those days in the forties.. Everybody had a garden. Most people had a garden. We did all your own things. Slower type of life. Different. That’s why I am thinking of moving into the bush. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I want to go somewhere where I have a garden. Where I don’t have to go up & down stairs & people.. That’s how things have gone here. I want a place where I can just have a day in the garden. A whole day in the garden. Not going in & out for a little bit.. But a whole day in the garden. Thoroughly enjoy it & it not be like work. Let it be like a pleasure to see the garden the following day & all the things I did with it. It is such a beautiful feeling. It is a beautiful feeling. To do something that a lot of people think.. Oh it’s work.. To me it’s not work. It is a caring.. It is a thing. It is a happiness to look after the earth. Yeah. I think it is a.. It is something that I need & something that I will work towards. However.. I am grateful for where I am & how I live. Very grateful indeed.
Marguerite is a valuable community member who helps maintain various gardens when possible. She also has Sydneys best balcony garden.