Grieving Williams Blossomed Through Gardening

The Brokeback Mountain star split from Ledger months before he died from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008, but was devastated in the wake of the tragedy as she faced the prospect of raising their daughter Matilda alone.

And it was only after she began planting new life in her garden at home in New York that she gained the strength to cope with Ledger's death.

She tells Vogue magazine, "My friends never really left me alone when we came up here. One got me gardening in the spring and that's when it all turned around. I remember being on my hands and knees. The ground was cold and muddy. I pushed back the dead leaves and saw green shoots of spring. Under all this decay something was growing. Caring for the garden reminded me to care for myself."