A life in bloom: In the garden with Petrina Blooms
There are some gardens that upon entry feel as if you’ve fallen straight into the pages of a storybook. Vines twisting and curling around awnings, enchanting florals hanging overhead, butterflies fluttering to and fro, and an overwhelming sense of calm—almost like magic—as you step through a curtain of flowers and enter, what feels like, another realm.
At least that’s how it felt on this sunny October Tuesday as we lugged our cumbersome camera equipment past the charming fairy garden, through the budding roses, and up the cobblestone pathway, before entering the serene world that is Petrina Blooms’ garden. Tucked behind an unassuming Californian bungalow, her enchanting world is brought to life in a rainbow of colours, perfume, and an overwhelming sense of joy brimming from every corner of the verdant retreat.
“My garden is like an extension of my heart. It's my craft. And it's where you'll find me every day. I'll be in here usually rain, hail or shine."
And how fortunate we were to find ourselves amongst the flowers with Petrina, spending a morning uncovering the memories, inspiration and little moments of joy that have helped shape her garden into the magnificence we see today.
A fairytale beginning
Petrina's love for flowers began long before she had a garden to call her own. Some of her earliest memories are of enjoying the wonders of childhood amongst the blooms in her great Nan’s garden.
"I remember being really little...I saw these gorgeous tall larkspur and delphinium, and I just remember thinking, I'm in a fairytale."
It's a feeling that has stayed with her ever since. Inspired by those early memories and a childhood spent reading Enid Blyton, Petrina has created a garden that feels like a little wonderland of its own, high up in the Magic Faraway Tree.
And perhaps that's what makes her garden so special. Beyond the flowers themselves, it's a place where your imagination has the space to grow wild and sweet memories of childhood have the freedom to linger a little longer, perhaps a dragon lays under the Japanese cherry blossom or fairies slumber in the colourful tulip cups. It’s the unbound freedom of the garden that allows our minds to wander back to the childlike curiosity we tend to leave behind, for the sensible world of grown ups.
Gardens from faraway places
As Petrina grew up and travel was on the horizon, her love for flowers continued to wind its way across the globe, where she discovered exotic buds and began building her botanical encyclopedia.
How did she do this? You may ask. Well, before mastering the art of the green thumb, she worked as a flight attendant, spending her time between flights seeking out the most interesting florals across all the countries she visited.
She recounts how when she used to travel the world, “My favourite part was going to see all the gardens. So, I would fly to London to see the Kew Gardens, or fly to Morocco to see the Yves Saint Laurent Gardens."
And while those travels may have taken her far from home, little treasures from the places she visited have found their way back into her own Melbourne oasis.
There's a pink dogwood inspired by a visit to Yosemite National Park, and Tulips bring back memories of her travels to Holland, whilst her Mount Fuji cherry trees recall days spent in Japan beneath the flowing pink blossoms. "I used to see the cherry blossoms when I was an air hostess, and I always said, when I have a garden, I'll grow lots of cherry blossoms," she remembers.
Today, each of these flowers is a reminder of somewhere she's been, a garden that has become something of a living scrapbook, filled with the fragrances and fleeting moments of faraway places. And perhaps the loveliest part is that she can return to them whenever she pleases. As Petrina so beautifully puts it, “I just love pretending I'm still travelling. And this is the way I do it, by creating that magic back in my own little garden.”
It's a sentiment close to our own hearts. Much like Petrina's garden, our Jardin collection is a gathering of floral memories, inspired by the gardens Bonnie has visited around the world. From the tulips of Paris to the giant water lilies of Berlin's botanical gardens and the rambling beauty of an English cottage garden, Bonnie's floral escapades are immortalised in paint before finding their way onto beautiful fabrics that bring a little piece of these far-off places into the home.
The joy of living amongst flowers
Spend a little time with Petrina and you'll quickly discover that her love of flowers goes far beyond the way they look.
Her middle name is Joy, which feels rather fitting for someone who has dedicated so much of her life to growing and sharing beautiful things. And perhaps it's no coincidence that joy is at the very heart of what her garden means to her.
“So for me, a garden is all about joy and growing joy and giving joy. It's my happy place, and I love sharing it with people.”
But for Petrina, the garden really does offer something deeper than happiness alone.
It's somewhere to slow down, to find comfort and reconnect with the natural world. A place that changes with the seasons and, in its own quiet way, reminds us that we do too.
"Whether for celebrations or for joy or for grief or loss, the garden will always just hold you and be there with you in all of that,” She reminds us.
There's something rather lovely about that thought. That the same flowers we turn to for celebrations can also bring comfort in quieter moments, and that simply spending time amongst them can offer a little respite from the rush of everyday life.
Petrina's approach to gardening reflects this feeling. As part of the slow flower movement, she grows organically and works with the seasons. She muses that she’s in “no hurry. The absolute opposite of a rush… I always just let Mother Nature take the lead, and I just listen to her and I learn from her, and I work around her."
It's a gentle reminder that not everything needs to happen instantaneously. Sometimes the loveliest things should simply be left to bloom in their own time.
To wander a little further into Petrina’s garden, find her on Instagram and TikTok at @petrinablooms. Petrina’s book, Garden Joy comes out worldwide March 2, Hardie Grant Publishing.
All images by Martina Gemmola @gemmola.
Words by Lolita Brugaletta.
