Oriel & Fear

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Oriel is a friendly tarsier with yellow fur and BIG bright eyes. Her garden represents fear.

Oriel lives in Peach Town with her father. Her mother is not very well and lives in the countryside with Oriel’s grandparents. Oriel misses her mother very much but knows she’s better off in the countryside.

Oriel likes watching movies with her father and playing puzzle games when she’s by herself, especially ones where you have to make blocks disappear. 

At school, Oriel feels shy. She’s a lot taller than her friends and doesn’t like it when people make comments about her height- it makes her feel like everyone is looking at her, even when they’re not! Sometimes she wishes that she was a block in a puzzle game that could disappear when things get too stressful.

She is really looking forward to her summer at Camp Pitch Pine. She wants to have the neatest, prettiest, most PERFECT garden in the whole camp!

At first, everything seems to be going well for Oriel. Her garden looks BEAUTIFUL! But things soon start to spiral out of control as Jitter Weeds start growing in the soil. She wasn’t that worried when they first appeared. It felt like one of her puzzle games- she just needed to make them all disappear. 

She plucked and plucked and plucked, but no matter how hard she tried, they just kept growing back. That’s when she started to panic. When we meet her, she is very upset- her garden is RUINED.

Using the Hero’s Guide To Gardening, Noomi teaches Oriel that in the real world, nothing is ever perfect. Spending your whole life trying to make things perfect can actually make things worse! When we accept that things are never perfect and focus on things that make us happier, we can start to feel happier and more relaxed.

• I feel a little bit sick.
• I feel nervous.
• I feel restless like I don’t want to stay still.
• My heart beats faster.
• I feel a bit sweaty.
• I start breathing quickly.
• I find it hard to get to sleep at night.
• I keep grinding my teeth.
• I feel like I need to go to the toilet.

• When people are mean to me.
• When I can’t find anyone to hang out with.
• When I miss my friends or family.
• When I have lots of hard work to do.
• When I have too many things to do all at once.

• Talk to a friend or trusted adult about how you’re feeling.
• Make sure you’re looking after your body. A good sleep, nutritious food and exercise can help you deal with stress.
• If you’re feeling really worried, breathing exercises can calm you down. I like breathing in slowly through my nose for five seconds then breathing out slowly through my mouth for five seconds.
• My new friend Cosmo says mindfulness can help you focus on the present rather than thinking about the past. Try drinking a glass of water and noticing all the different sensations in your body.

Grace is a tiny pink bat with sharp teeth and big furry ears. Her garden represents anger.

Grace lives in Jackfruit City with her foster parents, Tealia and Peet. She has lived with them for six years and loves them very much. Before joining Tealia and Peet, Grace lived with so many different families she lost count!

Grace loves hanging out with her foster brother, Sean. He makes her feel safe and secure and loved. However, Sean is a lot older than Grace and is going to be leaving Jackfruit City to study Caves and Other Crevices at the Peach City Academy for Nocturnal Creatures. 

Now Grace is feeling angry and upset. Instead of spending her last summer with her brother, she’s going to a stupid summer camp to study gardening of all things. She is not looking forward to it at all. 

Grace gives gardening a shot but gets frustrated when it takes a long time for her flowers to grow. When mean-looking Barb Blossoms begin to sprout, she tries ripping them up. Big mistake. They start to attack her! Typical, she thinks. She feels like the whole world is out to get her. 

When Noomi meets her, Grace has retreated to a dark corner to be alone. If anyone tries talking to her, Grace is determined to make them regret it.

Using the Hero’s Guide To Gardening, Noomi teaches Grace that while Barb Blossoms look scary, what they really crave is affection. Noomi learns that when people are mean or impatient, it can be very tempting to be mean and impatient right back to them. However, this only ever makes the situation worse. Treating people with kindness and patience can help them calm down. 

• My muscles feel tense.
• I can feel my heart beating in my chest.
• My arms and legs feel shaky.
• Small things get on my nerves really quickly.
• It feels like no takes me seriously.
• I want to lash to out.

• When people are mean to me
• When people break promises
• When something unfair happens
• When people don’t listen to me

• Talk to a friend or trusted adult about how you’re feeling.
• Try going for a walk or going to another room to take a break from whatever is making you angry.
• Do something with your hands- try drawing or solving a puzzle.
• Slowly count to 10 before saying or doing anything. This can give you time to calm down and think of something to say.
• My new friend Oriel taught me a breathing technique: breath in slowly through your nose for five seconds then breathe out slowly through your mouth for five seconds.

Cosmo is a quiet frog with light blue skin and large black spots. His garden represents sadness.

Cosmo is the middle child of an enormous froggy family- he has over fifty siblings! This sounds like a lot but it’s actually quite normal for a froggy family! However, having so many brothers and sisters does mean that the family nest can get quite chaotic. 

Cosmo used to be a very happy little frog. He was always kind and cheerful and all of his family and friends loved him. He found schoolwork quite difficult but someone was always there to lend a hand. If he got really stuck, his teachers made sure he had extra lessons to help him. Life was great.

Recently though, people have stopped hanging out with him as much. Now that his classmates are getting older, some of them have started being mean acting tough to try and impress each other. They find it embarrassing being friends with Cosmo because he is so gentle and they are tired of helping him when they get stuck.

Cosmo is worried about going to camp. His parents have sent him on a gardening course because kindness and patience are important traits for a gardener. But will anyone want to be his friend? What if he’s not very good at gardening? 

Despite feeling nervous, Cosmo works really hard on his garden, planting dozens of seeds deep down in the soil. He talks to his plants and tells them jokes. But nothing will grow!

That’s when Cosmo remembers he forgot to water them! Cosmo water his flowers and waits for them to blossom, but again nothing happens. Now he starts to feel bad. He waters and waters and waters them until his whole garden is a soggy, swampy mess. His worst fear has come true: he is a useless gardener and no one will ever want to be his friend again. 

Using the Hero’s Guide To Gardening, Noomi teaches Cosmo that you can’t force passion flowers to grow. They need support. But they are so worth it because when given this support they can end up being some of the most beautiful flowers in the garden. 

• Sometimes I lose my motivation. I can’t be bothered to do anything, even if it’s fun.
• I feel like everything is pointless.
• I feel lonely.
• I don’t really want to talk to people.
• I feel very tired.

• When people are mean to me.
• When I think about the mistakes I’ve made.
• When I can’t find anyone to hang out with.
• When I compare myself to other people.
• When I miss my friends or family.

• Talk to a friend or trusted adult about how you’re feeling.
• Make sure you get enough sleep, eat nutritious food and get some exercise. This will help you feel strong.
• Mindfulness can help you focus on the present rather than thinking about the past. Try drinking a glass of water and noticing all the different sensations in your body.
• My new friend Grace says try going for a walk to clear your head and take a break from anything making you sad.