The Buro Group

My poor child is stuck indoors most of the time because of his pollen allergy, he can’t play outside like most children.

Any time he wants to go outside and kick a ball around I have to remind him to be careful. The poor kid cries daily because he can’t do what normal children take for granted. I’ve been trying to find a solution for weeks and have come up with nothing. I have taken steps to make sure our home is free from anything that could irritate his skin.

When we first moved to Melbourne many years ago I couldn’t work out what was causing his skin to react. I soon caught on that whenever he was outside playing with his toy cars he would get red bumps on his skin. It turns out that my hypothesis was close, it was the pollen from the wattle tree in our yard that was causing the issue. The tree had to go and now we don’t wear shoes inside just in case we track some pollen inside. I had all but lost hope when I saw an magazine article about best garden practices for people with allergies. They mentioned a series of plants that were safe for people with serious allergies. I knew this would solve all my problems. I would replace all the pollen producing plants with allergy free ones like viola rozina and Petunias, then my son would be able to go outside again.

At least now I had some hope that my kid could play outside if we made some changes to the garden. I was a little concerned that the lack of grass would look a bit rough. We balanced it out with some lush green box hedges and fruit trees. Melbourne is just coming into Spring, the worst season for my child. I can’t wait to see his face when I tell him he can play outside.

This morning I woke up to the wonderful sound of rain. After hitting the snooze button a few times I eventually got up and went about my usual morning routine. I made myself a cup of tea and some breakfast, grabbed the newspaper and sat outside on the balcony overlooking my garden. I love being outside and often can be found dozing under the shade of a tree, or losing myself in a novel in a bed of flowers.

My friends have always called me Alice, like the character in that famous novel. That was a long time ago though. This morning when I sat down for breakfast something didn’t feel right. I looked out over my garden, at the birds splashing in the birdbaths and feeding off the seed tower. The vibrant garden filled with different varieties of flowers and the tall, majestic trees lining the high, solid fence. It was picturesque, none could dispute that. For some reason today I wasn’t feeling connected. My garden didn’t appeal to me at all. I saw no life, no love, only fading colour and artificially enhanced vibrance.

It dawned on me that I need a new garden. I invited my landscaper friend to come over and help me plan the new space. They are almost like my own personal landscape gardener considering how many times I’ve asked for their help. I told my friend about my longing for a newly landscaped garden and she came up with some amazing ideas. We talked about the types of plants that would be fun additions. I was particularly excited about the fruiting vines that would snake their way up the new lattice I was attaching to the side of the shed.

Once the arrangements had been made I started getting excited about possibility of my new garden. Although I didn’t know exactly how it would turn out, I told the landscaper came up with something brilliant. I’m excited to see the beautiful chrysanthemum in full bloom. Melbourne have some of the best gardens in the country and I want mine to be one of the best. Half the reason I love flowers so much is because they represent change and growth.