Hi Everyone,
My partner and I live with my daughter who has an acquired brain injury and now that she is well along in her development, she is 22 now and quite healthy, we are devoting our time to turning our yard (5 acres) into more of a bird friendly space.
As such I am keenly collecting seed when I can and germinating seeds and cuttings of indigenous and native plants that the birds use.
Our property is divided into roughly four area, front yard, back yard, front paddock and back paddock.
In the yards around the house we have a variety of native and exotic plants and in our back paddock is all native. Our front paddock has a few exotic trees and a few fruit trees but we are now planting out many natives. and creating embankments that will be planted quite thickly with natives and create laneways in the front yard to make my daughter's daily walks a bit more interesting and to encourage birds, especially the smaller ones.
Birds that have bred in our yard in the last 12 months include the long billed corella, superb fairy wrens, zebra finches, willy wagtails, crested pigeon, bul-buls.
If anyone is interested in some seeds from banksia, bottlebrush, or cuttings from tea trees and they live in the area near richmond to penrith to springwood I would be happy to offer them some from our yard. At present I have some seedlings of gum trees from our yard too but you would need a lot of space to plant them well away from buildings.
Kind Regards
Wollemi
Wollemi, I think your idea of providing interest & stimulation for your daughter is well worth pursuing.
Some years ago I approached several nursing homes about the idea of planting indigenous plants to attract birds & other wildlife for the stimulation & interest of residents who are immobile or suffering with dementia. Unfortunately, there was no interest in the idea at that time. I'd therefore be very interested to learn of your daughter's response to her daily walks in your garden. If it's positive I may well approach those nursing homes again.
In a similar vein my M-I-L is in a nursing home for people with dementia .Thay have a resident Golden Retriever who gives hours of pleasure and stimulus to the residents .He spends his days with the residents ,inside or out .Their garden is also a delight and that gives immense pleasure and stimulation to the residents too .My mother-in-law can spend days watching the Red-rumps that congregate on the lawn outside her bedroom , her memories of being on the farm possibly being stimulated .
Huxter I have been working in aged care and there are plenty of things like that to trigger memories or feelings or just opportunities for a today experience and something to share with their visitors. As you may know it is a progressive disease and the "now" moments are very important especially for you as a visitor to be able to establish a real time relationship with them ...even if it is just the fleeting moment of watching a pretty bird through the window :')
I have read that art therapy is very good too.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
...I'm saying this with no disrespect to anyone. But for me , to just "stare" into a tree, there doesn't even have to be a bird in it, is so calming. It puts all the problems of my life into a different light! There is no time or any pressure, just happyness. I think, we should all learn the therapy of nature, and the healing it can give to us!!!
M-L
That's true araminta. I used to love climbing trees when I was little and sitting peacefully up there for ages.
Cheers, Owen.
Wollemi, having just joined the forum I came across your post from March. Do you still have any seeds or cuttings available?