Sunday, 28/03, I photographed the third session for my Joy project. I had the participation of Caroline. She has a great personality and is so much fun to be around. Her spontaneity and honesty are so delightful that you spend an afternoon with her without even noticing time flying by.

Caroline’s Joy is Plant Propagation. I was lucky that the photo session was exactly at the right time of the year to see her working in a group of hardwood and semi hardwood cuttings she had collected. She prefers propagating plants from cuttings over planting seeds, and Autumn is the best time to work on that type of cutting.

I just think it’s kind of magic that you can cut a bit of a plant and you just stick it in dirt and it creates a plant. It’s very rewarding.

Caroline Norton-Smith

Her attraction to plants is genetic, both her mother and grandfather were gardeners. Caroline’s grandfather fed his family with what he produced in the big allotment he had in England during the Second World War. Times have changed and today Caroline prunes the roses and tends to her mother’s garden whenever she goes to visit.

The fascination with the magic of planting has always had Caroline’s curiosity. Even when she was a kid, when her auntie gave her and her sister money to get treats at Kmart, her sister would get candy while Caroline would get “Bambi seeds”. She would sow the seeds and wait to see what fun little plants would magically sprout.

Despite having graduated in accountancy – and actually working as a Business Analyst -, she is now getting her master’s degree in horticulture. She loves plant propagation because she thinks that plants growing is a magical thing and the master’s degree will help her in her endeavors.

In our project session, Caroline worked on cuttings she got from her AirBnB property in eastern Victoria, a geranium, and a plant with magenta leaves (to give more color to her backyard) she got cuttings from her neighbor. At the end of the session, she sowed the remaining of a packet of seeds that had been opened for a while.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided her with an unmatched opportunity to further develop her skills and love for plants. The hours she spent locked up at home allowed her to produce a copious amount of happy little plants. She often gives these magical treasures to family and friends.

To see the project profile, visit the Joy project page.