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I’m Michelle, a creative on the autism spectrum. Born during the 1970s in New South Wales, Australia, my mother said of my birth, “You shot out like a bullet!” True to form, I was eager to get productive. Although, for someone who once thought planting a hydrangea in arid dirt and scorching sun was a good idea, you could say I’ve learned a lil' something. Plants can be fast teachers, but I didn’t start gardening in earnest till I found my home. Decades later, I can’t imagine life without foliage, and lots of it. Not only does gardening provide a stint of exercise by default, I also feel energised and inspired by it. Even pulling weeds is satisfying, as is plucking spent leaves from shrubs high and low. Being around plants, in all their pizazz, is a wonderous human calibrator.
Purpose, patience, pleasure, and presence of mind are just some of my garden's rewards. This spacious oasis is ideal for letting go and being silent, to feel the gentle air swaying on and off my skin, balmy, nippy. To smell plant oils, their earthiness, sweetness. To hear shrubs moving wildly, steadily, ever-changing. To listen to birds trilling, insects buzzing. Seeing water reflections, petal edges, veiny leaves, hairy buds, even watching ants at work or earthworms wriggle and twitch, making the soil nice and rich, life is teeming beside me, under me, around me, above me, awakening all my senses. I notice more when I'm still, with nature at my knees. Gardening gets me out of my head, which, in turn, keeps other aspects of my life in balance. The outdoors also helps me reflect, gain insights, and find clarity. Many decisions have surfaced while I've been playing in the dirt. Misfortunes have transpired, too. Every gardener knows about plan B's, which can feel like plan Geez. Anyhoo, more understanding and appreciation comes from trial and error. Renewing is fun; it means more dreaming in the garden, and that can only be positive.​
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Need a Boost? Try turning over some soil.
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The garden lent a hand when my mother died. I found comfort in the earth and learned a lot about myself, so much so that I have been moved to write about my experiences. Find inner riches – an autistic woman’s story of love & motherloss here.
As gardening is a lifelong experiment from which one reaps the benefits, it follows that I'm happiest when involved in a planting project. I'm like a dog with two tails at that point! My enthusiasm for flora and their traits can shift into my description of my beloveds, too. Here goes: if Sonia were a plant, she’d probably be a weeping willow, well-grounded, able to bend in the wind. William? Maybe a perennial, he keeps returning, dividing his attention between us. Sidney? A hibiscus flower perhaps, large and striking, but not out for long. I live in the burbs with my spouse, Sonia, and our cats, William and Sidney.
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I wonder what plant I'd be. Let's see. Well, traipsing down the heat-tolerant root won't suit, pansies don't fold in the cold, and, camellia's, I stress, leave mess (albeit, a beautiful mess). A climber? Heights, eek. Pondering, pondering. OK. I'm a finely tuned instrument, so, I’d require specific conditions to prosper. That means I'd be a, hmmm........ the cogs are turning..................ah, of-course, a hydrangea.
Gardening is a major motivator, mood stabiliser, and even healer for grief.
Nurture &
Be Nurtured:
Keep On
Gardening
Peace & tea trees, Michelle.
My Garden Over Time
Planting projects ...... before & Afters
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Other Works
Below
By MD Riksman
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Coming in 2026
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