We need to be reminded sometimes that a sunrise lasts but a few minutes, but its beauty can burn in our hearts eternally.R.A. salvatore- I missed it. The early symptoms of a cold and a loosened schedule had me rising from bed later than intended. 'Oh well, there is always tomorrow', my usual response. But…
She's an early bloomer. Perhaps it's her way of heralding the onset of Spring, somewhat prematurely. In a yard of wintry dormancy, she puts on a magnificent display, and when the wind catches her branches, the petals rain down. Spring confetti. Sitting beneath her canopy, I hear the deep, resonant hum of thousands of bees,…
Deciding to grow radishes for the 'Grow Just One Thing' Challenge got me thinking about where I had first encountered this humble root veggie. My memory took me back to an early version of Grimm's timeless fairytale, Rapunzel, where 'rampion' was the edible root that Rapunzel's pregnant mother so craved that it led to theft, an…
I love the energy that Spring brings to a garden. In the past, I have passively acknowledged it, but this year, I have revelled in the transformation that occurs in every plant absorbing the warmer rays. I could wax on lyrical about all of my newfound discoveries, but today it's a celebration of an all-time favourite - the mulberry tree. This tree…
An experiment. After much procrastination, I took a risk and assembled, somewhat haphazardly, a 'No-Dig Bed'. For the uninitiated, the 'No-Dig' bed is a freeform, layered mound of organic matter and fertiliser that allows you to grow a food crop and build humus on nutrient poor soil. It negates the need to dig nutrients into the…
While in search of a beetroot relish a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Kyrstie Barcak's wonderfully encouraging blog, A Fresh Legacy. Not only did it provide me with the perfect beetroot relish recipe, it also gave me the gentle nudge I needed to begin growing my own fresh food. In earnest. While I have inconsistently grown herbs…
My journey into greener territory has got me thinking about the legacy of the gifts I give. In the past, I was focussed on the moment that the gift was opened. Not much thought was given to the fate of that gift thereafter. Now however, with a more mindful desire to keep things out of…
It's true what they say about failure. You don't learn from success. -Dustin Hoffman For me, PFJ has been very much about the journey and not the success. I discovered that with every small achievement, came the uncomfortable realisation that my efforts were relatively flimsy in the grand anti-plastic crusade. However, while my achievements were marginal, they…
This is a week late publishing, however I feel compelled to share my progress (purely for my benefit)... Week 3 PFJ was particularly exciting because I found a compost bin! A plain conical type purchased from Bunnings: You could be forgiven for thinking it has erupted from the ground, but I had to bury its base 10cm…
It has come as a startling, yet encouraging revelation that my young children already know a whole lot more about composting and worm farms than I do. It makes me smile to think that all the time that they spend in the 'garden classroom' at school provides them with such a valuable utility knowledge to…
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