BY WIND AND WAVE

Experience

Explore our interconnectedness with nature through various people-plant interactions.

Learn

Training services in horticultural therapy
and therapeutic horticulture.

Read

Catch up on published research findings and other writing related to people-plant interactions.

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Tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of the farm

Tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of the farm, the banana quietly grows. It takes its time to ripen without calling out for attention. Keep a close eye because when it finally ripens, it will take you by surprise and soon there will be too many yummy fruits to finish in time. Silent, but productive.

In our gardens, we are happy to see holes in our l

In our gardens, we are happy to see holes in our leaves because that means our pollinators are growing in numbers 💚🥰
#ecosystem
#symbiosis
#milkweed
#bloodflower
#plaintiger

There's something very rewarding about creating so

There's something very rewarding about creating something with your hands. Putting in effort and seeing it transform into a tangible product can have a grounding effect that gives great satisfaction and joy.

Neuroscientist Dr. Kelly Lambert calls this "effort-driven rewards." Specifically, movement (especially hand movement) engages the effort-driven reward circuit in our brain which helps to improve mood and reduce depressive symptoms. I find that it improves self-efficacy too. I mean, hey, I just saved an orchid!

*We were recently gifted a few orchids by a generous donor. This one had some rotten roots so I decided to switch the sphagnum moss out for a better draining medium. I trimmed a lot of the yellow roots even though that is not necessarily a sign of root rot - just a lack of chlorophyll. But there were some new healthy roots emerging so I decided to do it anyway. I'm not an orchid expert so here's hoping all goes well. Final bit of spring cleaning as we welcome the Chinese New Year.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to dip my toes

Last weekend I had the opportunity to dip my toes into rattan weaving with the Ukit/Bhuket community from Sarawak! I was fortunate to have met a craft researcher who brought along crafts made in Kelantan and she shared them with the artisans as they studied the different weaving patterns and made comparisons. What a fascinating cultural exchange. They figured out the techniques just by looking at the bracelets! Can you guess which is harder to weave??

Really appreciated sitting with them and learning about the different types of rattan used for weaving, as well as how the harvesting and processing involved the whole community. The last recorded population of Ukit/Bhuket in 2023 is 580. The land they have available for planting has been significantly reduced but their art lives on because it is an integral part of their lives. Such rich stories and traditions. I wish I spoke better Malay to be able to ask more questions!

Super chuffed that my course tomorrow is fully sub

Super chuffed that my course tomorrow is fully subscribed once again. We need more hands on deck who are interested in doing and not just talking! Attendees for this workshop typically already have experience in horticulture and I will be doing an introduction to our target population and the design process. Attendees will then learn to develop the SKILLS to apply their existing and new knowledge.
I'm all for hands-on learning so guess what activity(ies) we'll be trying out tomorrow?!
🌱
I also offer private training to social service and healthcare organisations who are interested in designing therapeutic horticulture programmes for your clients, using plants and strategies that work in our local context. To learn more, please reach out to me at contact@bywindandwave.com.

Neither a kookaburra nor a gum tree, but a merry w

Neither a kookaburra nor a gum tree, but a merry white-throated kingfisher nonetheless. I recently sat under a tree with a friend and watched this fella for ages. We watched it fly from one tree to the second, and settled on this branch. Each time it'd swoop down to catch its hunt, nibble for a bit, and then return to the branch above.
"Whoa, it's so blue!"
"Do you see it?"
"Oh there it is!"
"Look at its wings!"
These days we're practicing the joy of noticing birds in our own backyard and not necessarily the rare birds that people go crazy about. This helps us appreciate the regular stuff in our lives too.
#mindfulbirding #selfcompassion #awe

Happy new year! May you celebrate the blooms and e

Happy new year! May you celebrate the blooms and embrace the seasons in between. 🌻

I've been growing food for 12 years now but it's o

I've been growing food for 12 years now but it's only taken me the last 6 months to dig deeper into traditional recipes from our region. As naturalised people of the land we now call home, food plays a big role in defining our identity. I resonate more with local/regional recipes than recipes from my immigrant ancestors' homeland, especially because I've been growing the plants that serve as ingredients for these dishes.

I recently had the opportunity to visit some new friends at an Orang Asli kampung and we were greeted with such warm hospitality. I also learned many more ways to eat tapioca! We were gifted some to take home and plant, along with some wild boar curry and ubi kacau.

That said, I would love to one day learn more about the traditional recipes from my late grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother. But for now, the stories and recipes from Malaysia and Singapore leave me with so much food for thought (hehe). Using plants (and animals, if you like) that thrive here as ingredients makes so much more sense than buying food wrapped in plastic from the supermarket, don't you think?

Would you be interested in learning more about our food in 2025?
🌿 Learn to grow plants
🧘🏻‍♀️ Enjoy the therapeutic benefits of being with nature
🥣 Learn to cook and eat what you grow
Leave a comment or drop me a DM to be notified of our events in 2025.

#growyourownfood #identity #therapeutichorticulture

Transplanting a guava seedling 🌱 Child-led lear

Transplanting a guava seedling 🌱
Child-led learning: the children found a seedling that was growing too close to the house and decided to transplant it. Along the way they asked questions about what to do next, what the plant needs, etc. "Goodnight!" They said to the plant before returning to the house.

#therapeutichorticulture #horticulturaltherapy #growyourownfood #selfefficacy #childledlearning

One of the many joys of growing plants - harvestin

One of the many joys of growing plants - harvesting the fruits!
#therapeutichorticulture #horticulturaltherapy #gardening #selfefficacy

We love the rain! It gives us an excuse to stay in

We love the rain! It gives us an excuse to stay indoors and watch the caterpillars 😁

The garden has been getting many feathered visitors lately so these plain tiger caterpillars will have a higher chance of survival being raised in captivity. The butterflies will be released once they have eclosed.

#nature #therapeutichorticulture #horticulturaltherapy #caterpillar #milkweed #bloodflower #butterfly

The lotus flower rises above the mud, overcoming t

The lotus flower rises above the mud, overcoming the hardships and challenges of life. #nomudnolotus

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