Rose Soap 'n Lotion Workshop .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

We all love and enjoy the beauty of roses in posies and bouquets..

But, at our November Workshop we will learn about using deliciously fragrant roses in easy to make soap and skincare lotions.  Perfect for Christmas gift giving.

(See our Facebook page, 'Edgeworth Lley' Heirloom Roses for booking details.)  

And because heirloom roses contain their healing properties in their petals .. 

we will be gathering luscious petals from a range of perfumed roses in the rose gardens at 'Edgeworth Lley'.

While fragrance is usually associated with deep pink and dark red roses, 

many of our cream and yellow roses drip with perfume, such as the lovely cream English rose, Windermere.  

Not all heirloom roses smell the same though.  

The variety of fragrances among heirloom roses is endless.  

Some roses smell like violets, others have a scent of myrrh or even citrus, while others smell just like raspberries ..

So during the Workshop we will wander through the garden and do a fragrance sniff test of the roses.  Each Workshop participant will make their own unique blend of fragrances for their lotions 'n potions to take home with them.  

And because we never spray pesticides on our roses, there may be some little surprises hiding among the petals .. 

Which makes our roses safe to sniff and use in home-made lotions that smell beautiful and are made from natural ingredients ..

A Children's Garden of Imagination .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

A garden is a wonderful place where children can fire up their imaginations with nature as their inspiration; building healthy neural pathways in growing, active brains.  And creating happy memories that are triggered in adulthood by the sight, smells and sounds of nature. 

In a garden, with no poisonous sprays, children are safe to wander barefoot among the shrubs and flowers, climb low-hanging trees, make trails of leaves, and play-make in a world of their imagination. 

Are their garden faiiries (or scary fire-breathing dragons) hiding in the shadows over there?    Sssssh, in case we wake them up ..

 .. A tiny rose bud filled with morning dew suddenly becomes a royal chalice for imaginary faiiries to sip from ..

.. And tiny, little cobwebs sparkling with dew drops are now jewel encrusted necklaces for garden faiiries ..

.. Lying on the green grass, staring up at the sky dappled with climbing roses, imagining life in faraway countries, or even galaxies .. 

.. Making up stories and using tiny rose blossoms as finger puppets ..

.. Spying a spotted ladybird hiding next to a fat rosebud ..

.. Squatting on all fours looking up at flowers growing upside down!  How does that happen .. ?

Burying a small nose in a perfumed rose and breathing in gulps of fragrance .. 

.. the stuff of memories that last a life-time.

What does a Rose-craft Workshop look like? - Heirloom Roses .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

What does a Rose-craft Workshop look like at Edgeworth Lley?

At our latest Rose-craft Workshop we celebrated Spring by gathering a group of women together to create  a mixed Spring Posy of heirloom roses.

We started the morning by walking through the garden and selecting heirloom roses.  Then we placed these up to their necks in water to let the roses 'condition' while we refreshed ourselves with morning tea.  Usually this is held in the garden, but because it was raining a little, we sat on the verandah and looked out over the garden.

Then it was onto learning a few tips on creating a uniquely personal posy with the heirloom roses and herbs chosen from the garden.  Because our roses are fragrant and release their perfume as you work with them, the creation of a  posy is especially memorable and joyous.

And choosing a gorgeous antique ribbon to tie your posy with is a lovely way to accessorise your creation.

There are always roses left over, and these can be used in even more lovely creations. The range of things we can make with roses is almost endless .. it's not just posies and bouquets!!  At future workshops we will be looking at rose soaps and roses in the kitchen.

But back to the Spring Posies.  Along with learning how to combine  herbs and perennials with the roses, there are new 'weed' flowers to learn about too! Who would have thought clover had such lovely flower-heads?

And as the morning closes everyone shares their experience of making their unique creation .. and proudly takes a little snap or two.  

Finally, it's time to show off those lovely creations, each one unique and different, but all lovely!  After another quick refreshment, it's time to gather up the beautiful blooms and take them home.  And often we get even more pictures sent to us once they reach home!!  

And that's what a Rose-craft Workshop looks like .. A lovely way to spend a morning as a treat for yourself or you and a few friends.  

Creating with fragrant, heirloom roses is good for the soul!!!

Gardens and Emotional Well-being .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

In this week of mental health awareness in Australia, the link between the natural environment and human health is worth perusing.  Our culture's broadening disconnect between green spaces in its many forms and our lifestyles is, in my opinion, a cause for concern.

Previously, certainly in my living memory, gardens were every-day spaces in which children played on sometimes green lawns, climbed trees and hid among shrubs, peeping out at the world beyond.  And time stood still for many a child transfixed by the sights, smells and sounds of the garden; a butterfly landing on a brightly coloured flower, burying a curious nose in the centre of a flower to sniff its perfume and strip petals one at a time from its calyx.  

How is it that we've lost the joy of interacting with the natural world as part of our every-day ordinariness? Gardens, if they are noticed at all, are now places to be rushed past on our busy way to somewhere else, glimpsed briefly through partitions of glass as we whiz by in our mechanised worlds.  

Or perhaps a garden is only seen as a place for structured learning; growing vegetables and learning about the importance of preserving our environment.  Important as these are, a garden as a place for serendipitous discovery or 'just being' is too often relegated to the time-zones of the retired, or the ill and infirm. 

Could it be that what science is now telling us about the benefits of gardens for human well-being is just now catching up with wisdom of old?  In 1918, the Melbournian E.W.Cole ponders in the 'Happifying Gardening Hobby' that "when lonely we find solace and almost a species of companionship in our flowers ..".  

Research has shown us that having a connection with the natural world facilitates a sense of peace and helps to regulate emotional cognition (as in Attention Restoration Theory by Kaplan and Kaplan et al).  And beneficial biological responses to various perfumes of the garden in aromatherapy and the like are  more readily recognised, supporting  the long-held notion of taking time to 'stop and smell the roses'.  

Gardens are not proposed here as  a stand-alone cure, but as part of the mix of therapies that may support human well-being.  And if gardens were viewed as an every-day part of our 'doing and being' lives, places for play and reflection, perhaps we'd build resilience against times of mental ill-health.  

Again, in the words of E.W. Cole, "A child who likes flowers and is brought up in a home with a flower-garden .. will always remember it as long as he or she lives (as) .. a pleasant home."  Simplistic maybe, but certainly something to reflect upon ..





 

Creating a country garden .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Our aim in creating a country garden is to develop a green space that is practical as well as beautiful; a place where people can rest and recuperate.  And a place that inspires creativity and an appreciation for the beauty of nature.  

The garden is only young and still very much in the early stages of development.   We started our garden with a small semi-circular bed cut into the lawn.  And from there we expanded one bed at a time.

This required some planning, of course, but the overall design evolved to include a central axis, or central focus, with matching garden beds on either side.  The building of the rose allee allowed for further extension of the central axis, with climbing roses planted on either side to soften the structure, in time.   

The garden design is simple and Edwardian in style to match the age of our Queenslander house, circa 1916. Edwardian designed gardens were formal, often with a small central bed and framed with semi-circular or rectangular beds.  

Over-time the design has been expanded and revised.  Drought in the early establishment phase meant we needed to re-think our use of plants.  Research and trial and error have shown us that some of the old-fashioned roses  recovered well after periods of stress. Tea roses, have proven to be the most resilient, provided they are well watered in the first year or two after planting.    

So our garden continues to be a work in progress, tweaking the initial design so that even more heirloom roses can be planted.  A garden is an ever evolving work, never to be completed, but always to be enjoyed.    

Roses are Restorative - Spring Rose-craft Workshops .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Our Spring Rose-craft Workshops, are scheduled for 9 October and 20 October.  See Facebook: Edgeworth Lley, Heirloom Roses, for details.

The background for our workshops is based in scientific research that identifies the benefits of engaging with natural environments.

Did you know that spending time in a garden, park or other 'green space' can help your brain to improve its function?  And working with beautiful flowers is one way we can help our minds to relax.

In other words, engaging with the natural environment is beneficial to our health and well-being.  

As our brain focuses on plants and flowers, our mind finds space to relax.  And our mood improves, which in turn helps our physical well-being.

Environmental psychologists refer to this as Attention Restoration Theory, where natural environments such as gardens, parks and even views of nature, helps the mind to rest from a constant churning of negative or anxious thoughts.  

That's why when we walk through a park our attention is effortlessly drawn to the sights, sounds and smells of the natural world around us.  And this in turn helps us to turn off the constant cycling of busy thoughts.

And that's why we feel refreshed and re-invigorated after spending time in nature.

So there you have it, a short (and very simplified) background to our workshops; workshops designed on purpose to be therapeutic and restorative.  

So often, people of all ages and backgrounds who participate in our workshops suddenly 'discover' they can be creative, when they previously thought they weren't.  

And they feel an unexpected sense of peace and well-being after spending an hour or two making 'something beautiful' with our heirloom roses.  

And that's why we do what we do!!!