When we moved to our little 5 acre paradise here in Berry, back in 2014, a major part of the attraction, apart from being a wonderful space for the horses, was the beautiful gardens and variety of trees throughout the property. However, one thing was missing, Australian Native Plants. Sure, there were a few ol' gum trees along fence lines, as well as a couple of lovely old paper bark trees … but no flowering Native plants. Australian Native plants are another passion of mine ... Growing up in the country there were many adventures exploring bush around our place and taking in the beauty of the many flowering natives - waratahs, banksias, hakeas, heath plants, giant rock orchids as well as expertly hidden, tiny ground orchards, tree ferns … you get the idea! At the back of our house, the previous owners had established a very beautiful rose garden, in a raised, roughly triangle shaped bed, with sunlight most of the day. Knowing that one day I'd fully "renovate" this space, I contacted the local garden club and donated the rose plants to them, and then planted 3 dwarf grafted gum trees - two reds and an iridescent orange, who's colour has been spectacular each summer since, as well as planting a 2m grevillea 'bush' that quickly over "achieved"! The bed was covered in Liriope plants - an excellent ground cover with a small lilac flower, that had over the years became as thick as carpet, and home to quite a few rabbits and maybe a few other creatures! Anyway, this April I decided it was time to "renovate". The grevillea had become overgrown and messy … it was … retired. Over the next couple of weekends, much to the surprise of the rabbits, the Liriope plants were dug out, and re-homed to the local Men's Shed, as well as to a few other locals who were keen for some freebies! Tough work for an old codger like me, but somehow rewarding. I had a vision of what I wanted this garden to be, to look like, and each hour spent renovating was getting me closer to that vision. The gum trees were shaped and thinned with new buds appearing almost instantly … I guess they were liking what was happening too! The garden bed had a bottom layer of course gravel … perfect drainage, and hopefully great for some native plants from Western Australia.
So, over the next few days, using an old upright trolley, the rocks were transported and rolled into place to form mini-beds. The idea was for the mini-beds to help highlight feature plants, as well as provide a natural path through the native garden. Whether by good design or just plain luck, there were just enough rocks to do the job. Some recycled drip hose and a few new nozzles became the irrigation system. It was now time to decide on plants and their position.
A couple West Australian Kangaroo Paws; 2 West Australian Banksia ground covers; a few prostrate dwarf Acacia's 'Limelight'; yellow flowering and grey leafed Conostylis, planted in a cluster at one end; and grey leaved, yellow flowering prostrate Emu bush at the other. Slowly Eden's Garden was coming together. Plants in pots placed on the garden to get sense of how they would look. A few pots rearranged, and then put back … Our main bathroom looks out on to this garden. Each morning we see birds going about their day in and around the gum trees - I was keen to see how they would interact with the renovated garden. I wanted there to be a feature plant in direct line of sight from that window. The decision was a 'no brainer' … had to be the Waratah with it's stunning deep red flowers in Spring. Even though I'd tried and failed a few times over the years, I was confident that this Waratah would thrive ( or perhaps I was jus hopeful! ) Anyway, Spring is here and the Garden of Eden is looking great. Each morning a pair of Eastern Whip Birds fossick their way around the rocks, Blue Wrens do likewise, Wattle Birds swoop in and take refuge amongst the gums. Lewin's honeyeaters are regular visitors, along with a stunning pair of King Parrots, and Eastern Spinebills.. Safe to say the local birdlife are pretty happy with their new garden too!
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It's been just over 12 months since we began focusing more on our Therapy Practice ... and focused we are!
A major goal we set ourselves was to ensure True Colours became a registered provider with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The process to achieve this was arduous and time consuming, however, early 2018 we received our Certificate of Registration! Then the goal posts were moved - to renew our registration we now had to be audited by an independent organisation. Happy to say we passed! Sarah also went back to study with TAFE to gain a qualification in Teaching - we both saw this as an option to balance out the intensity of Therapy work - being able to combine both would be ideal. We looked into advertising and how we were going to get our message out, how do we let people know what we do, how our Therapy Practice provides a new and innovative approach to counselling and therapy that supports clients of all ages in addressing therapeutic goals. A webpage, Facebook and Instagram all play a role in getting the message out. We quickly found that 'word of mouth' and client referrals were just as valuable. In May this year we set ourselves a target of attending a Networking Event in July - this would be a great opportunity to introduce and 'sell' ourselves to organisations both local and further afield. We decided on some marketing material, an awesome presentation, as well as some very snazzy polo shirts and jackets! The day quickly arrived - our table looked pretty good. Pull-Up Banner, Brochures, Presentation, Business Cards, Bowl of Mints and and 2 very nervous people! Over a period of 2 hours, we had roughly 10 minutes with each organisation to put our best foot forward. Sarah did a fantastic job! Soon after, many of those organisations reached out to us, with many of those enquiries leading to ongoing clients!
Sarah has now transitioned from working full time externally, to opening our practice 4 days a week, as well as now teaching Community Services at the local TAFE. The last 12 months has continued the exciting journey we started over a coffee, that turned into a 'business' meeting, back in 2012. Sarah and I still have regular business meetings, over coffee ( and sometimes cake!), in Berry. It gives us time-out to review and discuss how the Practice is going, as well as how we are going. We are going very well! The Practice is going well - we've had great Client feedback, ongoing recommendations from organisations and Psychologists. So much so that we now have a waiting list! Looking forward to the next 12 months and beyond ...... We received some great feedback from the parents, both in how the Program could be improved, as well as the enjoyment and benefits the girls experienced during their time at True Colours ...
Unfortunately for a couple of the parents, their girls are now asking for a horse of their own! :) Many thanks to Renee O'Conner for partnering with True Colours to deliver the program, and to Anne Simpson for assisting with the running of the programs and taking some great pics ( Check her webpage here => PinkTurtlePhoto )! TC-AAT is now offering a Girl Power! program.
FB Event Details here ==> CLICK Our GIRL POWER! program is up and running! This program is open to small groups of girls who want to have fun, make new friends, feel more confident and SPEND TIME WITH HORSES !!! Our GIRL POWER! program consists of established Self Esteem, Emotional Awareness and Resilience Building sessions for girls aged 8-12 years of age. "The National Disability Insurance Agency is pleased to advise that C.L Green & S.M Green has been approved as a registered provider of supports" !
Finally ... it has been a long time coming! True Colours is now a Registered Provider with the NDIS! Did you know that Tilly, our 'farm dog', also moonlights as a qualified Therapy Dog? She's a regular at CareSouth's Homework Hub, and has also helped out at Shoalhaven Libraries Paws 'n' Tales program. It's been nearly a year since we moved into our little farm at Berry, on the South Coast of NSW! It has been a challenging year for both Sarah and myself, but a year that we have thoroughly enjoyed. We still turn into our driveway, turn to each other and say "can't believe we live here!" The property needed a bit of TLC and some changes to make it productive - one of our goals is to be as self sufficient as possible. The gardens here are extensive, but some of it is high-maintenance. I’ve spent the year slowly transitioning sections to be more in line with our goals - roses replaced by native plants; jasmine making way for passionfruit and twin grafted espaliered apple; in the citrus grove I’ve added Maggie the Mango, as well as Agnetha and Anni-Frid Avocados and Lydia the Lime … all growing well! Our "farm dog" Tilly has been a constant support in all our endeavours! There was an old chicken coup that Mitchell and I spent a few w/e’s extending and fortifying - we don’t want any nasties to get to my girls! We now have a steady supply of eggs from Palmy, Schnitty, Cacciatore and Tandoori - although I suspect Schnitty is a bit of a metro-sexual and may end up on the BBQ for Australia day! After 12 months of ‘planning’, Mitchell and I have finally made a start on the veggie garden. I’ve set aside and cleared around 150 sqm for the garden, which will consist of large raised beds, and irrigation system, compost bins and perhaps a hot house. I’m keen to grow some high quality produce and sell in the local produce market, as well as supply some of the local restaurants … time will tell if that is feasible. There have been a few changes with the equines - the beautiful Sienna has been re-homed so lovely property near Goulburn with over 40 acres to explore. We were excited to have Popeye with us for a trial period. He was a classically trained trotter, very gentle, but like me lacked a little pace. Our current herd consists of Molly the Miniature, Patrick a Welsh pony, Leila a thoroughbred, and Shaster, our original horse, a rescued baby brumby who is not so much a baby anymore. Sarah has been spending a lot of time with him, slowly getting him used to things and actually was able to sit on him last week. She is following the practice of Carlos Tabernaberri from Whispering Acres, who starts, trains and rehabilitates horses the gentle way, establishing cooperation through clear communication, understanding and trust to ensure improved performance and versatility, regardless of your preferred discipline. Sarah has attended a couple of his workshops (so has Shaster!) and been very impressed with the approach taken by Carlos.
A couple of years back, my wife started 'collecting' horses .... We were leasing a small parcel of land about 30mins drive from our home. The travel to/from to look after the horses was increasing, along with the members of our equine family :) Chatting in a small coffee shop in Bowral mid-2012, my wife suggested the idea we could start an Equine Therapy service for children. Sarah works with these children and so understands how effective this type of program can be. I thought a tree-change would "kill 2 birds with 1 stone' as I had always dreamt of getting back to the land, having grown up on farms. We spent the rest of 2012 'just looking' - we had no idea how much land we really needed and how much a small farm would cost. After spending way to many hours on realestate.com, and driving all over the South Coast checking out properties and vacant land, we finally found our dream home at the end of 2012. We feel very fortunate having found our small farm in Berry, NSW. A lot of "coincidences" happened along the way that has made the search and purchase seem to be pre-destined, if you know what I mean. Now the long journey to prepare the property and the animals, develop the business plan, and settle in to Life on the Land ... |
Craig here ...Hi - I'm Craig, the loving and supporting husband to the lovely Sarah :) Archives
October 2019
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