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"Somehow, driving home after my unplanned therapy session with Penny, I felt relief, because I knew she was right."
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY MADELINE CURR
After returning from New York City, Madeline Curr is still pondering whether she wants to stay in the country or head back to the bright lights of NYC.
"I thought that as I got older, the decision about where to live would magically become easier, but it's proving to be as hard as it always was," she writes.
Madeline's dad, Damien, riding home.
Maddie's 21-year-old brother, Cooper, whose horse float caused havoc with the bougainvilleas.
The herd heading home.
While back home, she discovered a new interest in gardening, so she enlisted the help of local gardening guru, 81-year-old Penny McKinley.
"Darling one day you will look back and see that all along you were blooming," Penny tells me. "You're not meant to be anywhere, you're just meant to be wherever feels right."
"This helps me realise that, yes, time may be passing and I still haven't returned to NYC, but something tells me I've got a long life in which to return to that big city," she writes.
Getting older can be daunting, yet also exciting. I’ve noticed that as you grow, your tastes also change: in foods, in style and even in love. You tend to pick up new interests and hobbies, too. For instance, recently I woke up one morning and randomly decided I wanted to plant three white bougainvillea bushes along the side of the horse stables. I actually don’t think I’ve ever planted anything before, so this is a really unusual thing for me to try. As I drove in to town to purchase three new little plants to join the family, I wondered, “Would I have had this new passion if I had gone back to NYC?” I think not.
When planting the baby bougainvilleas, I didn’t know there’s a secret to keeping plants alive in the bush, beyond stopping my brother from parking his horse float on two-thirds of them. I had heard that bougainvilleas are one of the toughest plants you can get, but even so they could not withstand a 21-year-old’s ute and horse-float tyres. I have to admit that maybe without him realising it, my brother was letting me off the hook for success or failure of my new-found project, as the three plants were already not looking quite as healthy and happy as they had been when I bought them, that’s for sure. What had I done wrong? How could I stuff them up this badly so quickly? I knew that there was only one thing left to do: call Penny.
Penny McKinlay is every garden’s saving grace. She is the Darling Downs garden guru who can tell you anything there is to know about any plant, for any soil, on any property or station from Toowoomba to Timbuktu. I was told that people from surrounding farms and properties travel long distances to get their hands on a plant from Penny. Did I mention that she’s 81? So she really does know her stuff.
As I pulled up outside Penny’s lovely home in our local town, with its sprawling gardens, I was expecting to leave with plenty of knowledge about plants and soils.
“Darling, one day you will look back and see that all along you were blooming,” Penny tells me. “You’re not meant to be anywhere, you’re just meant to be wherever feels right.” Somehow, driving home after my unplanned therapy session with Penny, I felt relief, because I knew she was right.
Being in the country makes you notice the small things in life, although nature in the country isn’t small, it’s beauty on a grand scale. Every single window of my home looks out to wide open spaces. As I type this, I’m listening to at least five different species of birds as they chirp away to each other. Would I have noticed this all at the age of 21? Or 18? Was I noticing these things before I left for the city? Maybe not.
I always thought that being young was the best thing, because you’re carefree and innocent. But my view on growing older has changed. It’s a beautiful thing: I’m learning to trust myself and my decisions more and more as time goes on.
A song just came into my mind that my grandma Carol used to sing to me that now makes so much sense: “Que sera, sera; whatever will be, will be.” Watching Penny, who is an absolute inspiration to women all over the bush, I see a woman who is passionate and strong in everything she does. This helps me realise that, yes, time may be passing and I still haven’t returned to NYC, but something tells me I’ve got a long life in which to return to that big city. Right now I’ve got three prickly babies that are hanging in there and relying on me.
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