Plants breathe oxygen into the world but the power of their flower is huge as well, as far as Di Mill at Ilfracombe is concerned.
Dwindling town water supplies and increasing water restrictions forced Di to close her nursery in the small town east of Longreach in February 2015, a heart-breaking decision for both herself and her clients.
However, thanks to relief rain in February this year and again in June, water restrictions have eased and the nursery is slowing coming to life.
“It’s just baby steps – one day a week – we’ve had to restart the whole nursery,” Di said. “But it feels so good being back in the nursery.
“Everybody needs plants – they are so healing.”
That was never felt more than in 2014 at the Westech field days at Barcaldine, when Di went all out with a heartfelt display to reach out to hurting home-makers who were letting their gardens die.
"I decided my theme was letting go, living in the now, accepting what we have and being happy with that," Di said at the time. "We had many who shed a tear that day. Everyone got my theme and that was all I wanted to achieve.
"Times have been tough for a lot of people. I wanted everyone to forget about their troubles just for a short time."
She had earlier taken in plants from people giving their favourites up rather than watching them die, and when she and her husband John were forced to shut down themselves, the public urged her to hang in there and wait for rain.
”The public really missed the nursery,” Di said. “They really liked the ambiance of walking around it and the whole social coming together that happened.”
The nursery’s regrowth has not been easy, after kangaroos lived among the empty shelters for eight months.
Di said there had been a lot of roo damage to shadecloth and boards, and suppliers were wanting cash up front, thanks to the business’s closure for a year.
“We owed no creditors, at a personal cost to us,” she said. “We couldn’t sell our plants; everything dried up.
“It has been Longreach and Barcaldine Regional Councils and Barcoo Shire Council putting in orders that have given me the cash flow and got me going again.”
She would like not to be so reliant on plant dollars and to diversify, and she put her dormant time to good use doing a small business course, but future moves will be dependent on dollars and cents.
To this end she hung onto their truck, the means of getting to events as far west as Birdsville to reach customers.
In the meantime she’s still overwhelmed by all the hugs she’s received since being open for business once again.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
