In 2025 I started growing plants from seed, learned propagation techniques and created a small container garden. Over the last 11 months, through a lot of research and trial and error, I’ve been learning how to nurture plants and support them to thrive in the extremes of a tropical climate. My focus now is on growing aromatic plants and working on creative projects that encompass their beauty.
Current Projects Inspired By The Garden
Making Coconut Oil
Stages
Opening
Extraction & Cleaning
Straining
Refrigeration
Fermentation
I wrote the music for the video using a music composition app called Notion. Basically, instead of writing notes on manuscript paper with a pencil, you can write the notes onto digital manuscript paper so it looks a lot tidier.
I don’t use AI to create any of my work and I don’t use ready-made beats or samples. I just transcribe what’s in my head onto the manuscript “paper” and by the magic of the software you can hear the notes (and add the music to a video). Hours of entertainment! You can hear more of my music on my art website.
Making Infused Oils
After making my first batch of coconut oil a little while ago, I’ll probably use that as the carrier for infused oils going forward although I’m testing out other carrier oils at the moment, just for comparison.
For these samples I used organic cold pressed coconut oil that I bought as I’m using the coconut oil that I made for another project. I left each jar on a window sill for a week.
Out of the three infused oils, the rosemary is my favourite, both for its fragrance and the beautiful deep amber colour with just a hint of pink. It reminds me of honey. I added a few drops of vitamin E oil to see if it can help to improve the shelf-life.
The thyme infused oil had a subtle fragrance and the coconut oil showed very little colour change. The beautiful citrusy/floral scent of the lemongrass was lost by the end of the week and the oil changed colour to a greenish-yellow. I’ll persevere with the lemongrass as I’d like to see if it’s possible to preserve the fragrance in an infusion.
Read stories from my garden at www.agardeningoasis.com