INTERVIEW WITH KIM MASSIE IN TENTERFIELD, AUSTRALIA_

Did you look to other gardens or designers for inspiration for the planning of yours?

Before I began building my garden here in Tenterfield, I was fortunate to work with garden designer Carolyn Robinson at her Glenrock Garden for a couple of years, where she truly ignited my passion for gardening. I’ve always been inspired by English gardens, particularly their hedges and shapes, and I had incorporated these elements into my previous gardens, though they were on a much smaller scale.

Working with Carolyn was the start of everything for me because she was such an amazing gardener and teacher. The hedger tool was the most comfortable tool I’ve ever held in my hand - it just came natural to me from the moment I picked it up. She told me why and how to hedge things and what time of the year - after they flower - she just explained everything to me while we were working together. I learned so much and loved her gardens because they are a lot of English style, exotic type plants, more so than natives. I haven’t connected too much with natives. I think cause you can’t get them quite as perfect looking! However I know our climate is heading towards the natives…

What are some life lessons you have learned in the garden?

Patience…Plants need time to grow, and so do we. Gardening has taught me the value of patience and to trust that things will just happen naturally in their own time.

Connection to the soil…There’s this magic connection between the soil and well-being which creates a deep sense of peace and grounding. The bond between the soil, my garden and my well-being have been undeniable, providing solace during the darkest times. It is simply our best natural medicine.

What advice would you give to your former self just starting out on your garden / landscape design journey?

Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything about my garden/landscaping journey because every step, even the challenges, played a crucial role in shaping my experience. But if I were to offer advice to my former self, it would be to trust in myself more and be patient. I’d also remind myself that mistakes and setbacks are simply opportunities to learn and grow. Ultimately, everything happens in its own time, and the garden, much like life, has a natural rhythm that can’t be rushed.

You must feel like you’re expressing an immense amount of creativity here in your garden?

Totally. I’ve always been a crafty person - quilter and crocheter. I like my house nice inside and I’ve always been good with colours and matching things. But with my garden it is just oozing out, especially when I’m doing those spirals! You can just let your creativity go. It’s all about just giving it a go.

Was the garden before, during or after your initial cancer diagnosis? When did the garden come into play in amongst that?

So in 2012 I had just finished planting most of the garden out the front when I was diagnosed with cancer. Once they took the lump, did the tests on it and found out what it was, the doctor said ‘I don’t think you’ll be gardening again.’ That’s when I just slid off my chair and thought - no.

Then as I started my treatment and going downhill week by week by week, I would walk around my garden while I was in my sickest state, and I would talk to my plants saying, ‘don’t worry I’m going to be hedging you, nobody else is going to be hedging you. I don’t care what the doctors say, I’m going to be there for you guys.’ I told them that, I’d lay on the grass out the front. Sometimes I couldn’t even get around the circle out front.

Once the cancer spread to my lungs, they took a third of my lungs out. I then went on more chemo - 6 months of it. Just after they told me I had a year to live. Shortly after I did a 10 day vipassana meditation course. They have it all around the world. It is free, you make a donation at the end if you can afford to.

That put me in the right mental state to cope with what had to come - the next 6 months of chemo. I then made the decision to come off the chemo and the doctor said ‘as long as you know you’re taking yourself off’ - in other words you’re going to die. I said ‘well this chemo is going to kill me.’ I couldn’t walk, my feet were bleeding, I had nothing in the tank and not long after I was sitting outside with Carolyn. She was the one who suggested I start on the design for the backyard.

I said at the time, ‘Well if I don’t have much time I’ve got to get stuck into this.’ I don’t know… I just did it. In the face of adversity my garden became, not just my sanctuary, but a vital part of my healing journey. As I faced the challenges of cancer, the simple act of tending to my garden became a powerful source of strength. Gardening wasn’t just a hobby, it was a lifeline and through the seasons, I planted, nurtured, and watched life bloom all around me.

The third paddock with the chapel started a few years later.

In 2022, a decade after your initial cancer diagnosis, you celebrated a remarkable year.

Hosting my largest open garden during Easter brought through around 700 visitors. A number of weddings and photoshoots in my Ivy Leaf Chapel has filled my heart with joy. A flow of garden clubs continue to visit, plus a well known TV garden programme film crew visited, capturing the culmination of my journey. I’ve explored several courses over the years and continue to pursue studies in horticulture and marketing, hoping to attract more weddings and events within my garden.

The therapeutic connection with the soil and the rhythmic cycle of nature, planting seeds of hope, continues significantly to my ongoing recovery.

“In the midst of winter…

I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

― Albert Camus