our magic garden

2011-12-30T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a rather busy, and sad festive season mountainside and it feels like I've dropped more balls than I've had in the air, if such a thing is possible. New Year's resolutions abound and without going into all the boring details, paying more attention to this blog is one of them. Though I'm not overly interested in the moment the clock strikes twelve, I am very happy to celebrate the fact that I've persisted with Magic Garden, both on the ground and here, in the ether. I'm not going dwell on the disappointments of the last year, suffice to say, there won't be any green tomato chutney at our next Christmas feast... but these are some of the most recent highlights...

This time last year, I was in an extremely reflective mood. Our new baby had just come home from hospital after an ever-so-scary bout of viral meningitis and I was full of gratitude that we were home, that she was on the mend and so conscious of the lovely friends and family who supported us so wonderfully during that time. I love the idea of using plants and gardens to commemorate important events, whether they're joyous or solemn and when I was in hospital with Miss E, it bothered me greatly that I hadn't planted the magnolia I'd bought to mark her birth. Getting that plant in the ground was top of my to-do list, come the New Year. I'm just so pleased to present this image of her Magnolia's first flower! I love how the blossom is sheathed by its petals, how the pollen has fallen, that this plant has thrived in step with our little girl.

Our big girl is not quite as helpful in Magic Garden as I'd like; her weeding skills are yet to come to the fore! But she is very good at picking posies and strawberries...though it was a challenge to get this shot before she ate them all. Planting fruit and veggies that little people can help to harvest is so rewarding and the one of the best ways to get them interested in trying different types of produce. Who cares if they're not good at weeding as long as they eat healthily!

Two new crops I planted this year were garlic and broadbeans. Both required some discipline in the preparation stakes - that is I actually planted them when I was supposed to. I should have double the amount of garlic but I made a slight error in two of the patches, oversowing with a clever clover mix that I chose to let go...and go...until it flowered and I realised that Id created too much competition in the bed for the garlic to really succeed. Companion planting is all very well, but it does pay to actually follow the tried and tested suggestions, I guess, rather than make up your own...

And here are my broad beauties! Miss C and I planted the seeds together on one of the rare occasions that popping in seeds has held her interest. She wasn't blown away by the taste of the fresh beans, straight from the pod but I was and I have been busily cooking with them ever since. I think my fava favourite is to blend them up with lemon juice and a little salt and pepper, then serve as a bruschetta topping. Top with some fetta or goat's cheese marinated in olive oil and share. Bon appetit and happy new year.

on the 7th day of Christmas...

2011-12-07T02:54:00.001-08:00

...my lovely neighbour gave to me, a bowl of ripe raspberries.

Whilst she is not my true love, how can you not LOVE LOVE LOVE a neighbour like that? Not only does my lovely neighbour feed my cat when I'm away, she offers up scrumptious summer berries like these. Plus, she's away for a couple of days and said we should pop over and pick more! No matter what your denomination, and I'm firmly non, how can you not count your blessings when you have neighbours like these and the freshest raspberries on your plate? I had been dithering about whether I should get some raspberry canes and now, I shall dither no longer. I will find the perfect place and plant as soon as I can get my pink stained fingers on the plants! Even our fussy E.D. couldn't resist, that's her reaching out for some raspberry love.

2011-11-16T01:59:00.000-08:00

As deciduous trees go, the Copper Beech takes its own sweet time to lose its leaves. The leaves never drop, they remain on the branch, shielding the new growth in their husks. In terms of hours spent raking, you can't really accuse this tree of making work for you! When the new leaves unfurl, they have a delightfully soft quality that creates the translucency you see in this image. Two weeks later, the greenish blush of the new leaf has hardened up into a dark maroon and a completely different tree stands in Magic Garden.

2011-11-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

First sweetpea of the season. Sweet.

sunset on October

2011-10-31T16:16:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe that it is now November. We're on the downhill run to Christmas and the New Year will be here before we know it. Yikes! This shot shows the gloaming at its finest and at this time of year, the sunset is starting to move further to the left. In Magic Garden, this creates the most delightful glow through the copper beech and dancing shadows across the garage and throughout the house. If I was a photoshop whiz, I'd have eliminated the bag of mulch you can see in the background and added myself, vino in one hand and watering can in the other...

Old fashioned petal, old fashioned scent

2011-10-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

Not quite the latest triumph in Magic Garden; as Spring is waving her magic wand in every corner - but certainly one I feel very proud now to claim as my own. When we first moved in, this wisteria had been languishing under the Hills Hoist, trapped and somewhat stunted. It wasn't flourishing and seemed to not have the even the energy required to colonise the hoist. As creating my kitchen garden beneath was my first priority, this lovely lady needed a new home. Hedging my bets, and loving the idea of an ugly garage transformed, I trimmed her root ball and placed her, well fertilised in a half-wine barrel. Then I got busy with the secateurs, the sugar cane mulch and proceeded to drown her with water. And a year later, I realised, that the soil mix was far too heavy with clay and I'd compounded the drainage issues with too. much. mulch. This was when I first came to understand the depths of my mulch addiction.

Fast forward, 2 years later: I am pleased, actually ecstatic to report that my attempts at rehabilitation (mark 2) have been a resounding success and I offer the following images as a poor-man's time lapse of how the buds came into bloom.

The reformed stoner in me found this point the source of much amusement. What can I say? Sweet buds, dude.

Here, we start to develop a little more length and you can just see the first flecks of mauve...

Now, Lady Wisteria enters her pre-historic, 'how to tame your dragon,' mode...

Making a run up the trellis and if all is going according to plan, next year should see a curtain of blooms running across the top of the playroom's window.

And voila!

Purple, lilac or mauve - how ever you'd describe the hue, I think you'd agree that this image is worth repeating as I am, as I mentioned previously, ECSTATIC! Looking closely at how the flowers are formed, you can definitely see that the wisteria is a member of the flowering pea family. These pendulous racemes occur before the new leaves emerge and are all the more striking for being the first of the season's growth. Pruning back to the bud after flowering increases the next year's show and I'm sure that this has made a big difference in this particular plants return to form. Like any climber, a wisteria can quickly became an invasive weed, especially if the plant is under stress.

The largest wisteria can be found in Sierra Madre, California. According to Wikipedia, it measures more than an acre in size and is estimated to weigh over 250 tons. Holy Moly, plant lovers! For a truly impressive specimen in the Southern Hemisphere, I recommend an early Spring visit to the Norman Lindsay Gallery in Faulconbridge, NSW, Australia. And if you are selecting plants on the basis of the scent they offer, wisteria's is a very gentle olfactory pleasure and one you should definitely consider.

2011-10-03T01:32:00.000-07:00

Long weekend. Daylight Savings. Local garden festival. Happy days...

More snaps of the Leura Garden Festival to follow in the next few days. This shot shows the rare white cherry blossom - I do so love any contrast to the sickly musk stick pink that is completely ubiquitous in this neck of the woods. Wandering around gardens that are festival spec is a complete inspiration to this lady gardener...the return to Magic Garden has me feeling motivated and often, deflated. There is so much work to do before I could even begin to consider 'showing.' Take a number, sunshine, make a list.

2011-09-16T03:35:00.000-07:00

Magnolias are another bloom that sing Spring, they anchor the season in the my memory and remind me particularly of the area I grew up. Trees as dominating as the houses whose front lawns they decorate and more than ample to play house in. Up here, you don't see them as frequently, when you do they're not usually as majestic. But the tree these came from is the one of the exceptions. It is easily as tall as my lovely neighbour's house and is a perfect example of a deciduous tree, in the perfect place. Facing north-east, it provides shady respite in the summer and maximises the sun's warmth in winter. In between, there are these drinkable blooms to enjoy; their shape reminds me of tea cups and crooked pinky fingers.

i do love to ponce about pretending to be a professional florist...

At the Gospel Hall, our old abode, Husbando had planted the Magnolia "Star Wars," as a tribute to his love of the George Lucas epic. It tickles me that somewhere out there, an earnest cultivator channelled his inner fanboy in order to give his labour of love such a nerdy name. I really hope that that is the truth and it wasn't a decision driven by the cynicism of the marketing machine. The realist in me knows the latter is most probably the truth, but the optimist is ever Pollyanna.

Magic Garden however, is all but magnolia free - another weird omission by Mrs Batty. I would so love to uncover her gardening notebooks, tucked behind the outdoor dunny. Perfect! Though it does feel inappropriate to imagine my genteel Mrs Batty making notes on the bog...I digress, swept away by toilet talk no less! When our new baby was born, I did plant one of the dwarf varieties, the evergreen "Little Gem." The leaves are a darker green, with an underside that is a russet - bronze colour. The flowers are a simple cream inverted bell and the whole ensemble seems hardier to me and somehow more suited to the Australian landscape. They are slow growing and happily, frost tolerant. In the year that ours has graced the prime position by the letter box, I really don't think it's grown significantly but apparently, it could reach between 4 and 8m high and be upto 5m wide. At this stage, it seems the baby has outperformed the tree...this is how it should be perhaps?

Two of my favourite ladies have returned home from holidays, each bearing the most delightful news...congratulations and hooray for everything, I say!

2011-09-10T03:53:00.000-07:00

So much of Magic Garden's beauty pre-dates me entirely; each season I feel like I am reacquainting myself with each element and this process of rediscovery thrills me. The collection above represents just some of the camellia varieties that Mrs Batty was so enchanted with. I would love to set myself the challenge of learning the name of each but really, looking through the pages of my trusty, doorstop-sized Gardening Australia Flora's Trees and Shrubs, there really are just so many different cultivars that it's quite overwhelming and I can't make any assertions with any confidence. Plus, the light in my study isn't the greatest!

the white varieties are a bright spot on a misty mountains

morning...but must they brown up so badly?

Suffice to say, the majority of my camellias flowering at the moment are japonica with a few reticulata, the difference being that the latter's leaves are darker and narrower in comparison to the japonica and their rose pink flowers have a larger and open form. According to my Gardening Australia doorstop, there are over 2000 cultivars of japonica which makes me feel better about not becoming an instant identification guru. One of these, 'Anita,' is especially sweet, narrow pale pink petals, streaked with maroon. She's a more magnolia type of bloom and kind of reminds me of painting on silk, whereas other deviations from block colour seems to be more of tint that bleeds to the edges. Does that make any sense to anyone but me? God knows, I'm hardly an expert in the field of painting on silk either...

A big thank-you to lovely Mimi, who kindly put all these images together in these very professional looking grids. Have I told you lately that YOU are AWESOME?

2011-09-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Hellebores! Hello Spring!

This type of shot makes me want to start super-imposing tiny creatures of the fey, in pearlescent outlines, so they could be seen in one direction but not the other. Spooky. As you've probably guessed my nous in this regard leaves alot to be desired and so rest assured, that won't eventuate. However, if you've visited and found that the images invisible, my apologies, I need some remedial image management lessons, I'm working on it and in short, I'm embarrassed...

But this is the first day of Spring, calendar wise and though it will take a little longer to work its way up the hill, I'm embracing today like my first born. This time last year, I was in a haze of pregnancy and this seasonal milestone passed me by. Even still, now that our new baby has been 9months in and 9months out, days still pass me by...but not today, people, not today! She started out overcast but burnt off into unapologetic blue, her brilliance almost accusatory as if to say, 'Oh, really? You doubted me?' If only the sky could talk...

2011-08-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

A rainy day mountainside; I'm so glad I took this shot yesterday and even more pleased that I took the time to plant up these bulbs, earlier in the year. There's been alot of self congratulations from the back steps!

2011-08-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

2 months. Almost 9 weeks. 62 days. You could be forgiven for thinking I'd hung up my hat and gone home. In a way, I have! But these are the cold hard facts and I'm putting them upfront because they're shocking and I'm embarrassed. The worse thing is that whilst I could give you an overview as to where the time has gone, there's no way I can account for 62 days. Sure, there's been a whirl of interstate travel punctuated by brutal windstorms and then unbelievable days of Indian Summer in Winter. But we're now two-thirds of the way through winter and to be honest, I'm panicking and often sit on the back steps feeling overwhelmed. But the scent of Spring is on the breeze and my broad beans have germinated. Blossoms are busting out all over, pierus is cascading and the rhodos and camellias are ready to dominate. And all over Magic Garden, pockets of daffodil and jonquil are erupting. Snowdrops are bobbing and grape hyacinths and purple crocus compete against Oprah Winfrey for a role in the reprise of the Colour Purple. Crocus is up in terms of sheer numbers but the hyacinths have a more intense hue. Who'll take the Oscar this time, I wonder?

Garden-wise, Winter has a reputation for being a period of dormancy; it's permissible to let things slide. But it is also one of the best times to make hard decisions about the shape of your garden. For me, the toughest choice I've made of late is to toss that old hat in the shot above. It's been a trusty part of my garden couture but there's only so many times you can repair the crown of straw hat before you start looking more jingle-jangle scarecrow than Flake lady. When trees are bare and legs are hairy, you can see the structure more clearly so it's a good time to identify plants which aren't working in the overall landscape and earmark them for transplantation when the weather warms. Plants which aren't thriving at all can simply be removed. In Magic Garden, I've nominated some rather spindly Azaleas which are for the tip and a big patch of seaside daisy which needs to be cut back before it completely engulfs the hebes. I've decided where I'll relocate the weeping Cherry if we ever renovate and I've finally started construction on a ring bed around the base of one of the biggest cherry trees. Next autumn, I'll pop in some of my many scattered daffodil bulbs and this time next year, share the joy.

During my meditations on the back step, I've been trying to come up with space for one of these divine chinese flowering quinces. The crimson cultivars of the superba are the perfect antidote to the fairy floss pink of the prunus which dominate at this time of year. Plus, I love the clash of pink and red together. The flowers emerge from a thicket of rather spiny stems which can reach heights of around 1.5 metres. Their spread is nearly 2 metres which makes me wonder if maybe I should aiming higher and be planning a hedge instead.

Magnolia x Loebneri...maybe...I think...could be Stellata?

And finally, I'm sure I've mentioned this before but despite the variety within Magic Garden, strangely magnolias aren't featured anywhere. I've planted a hybrid by the letterbox which goes by the name of Little Gem but I fear it's got a long way to go before it flowers. The specimen above is one I've come watch for each year when visiting some of my favourite people. You know who you are!

2011-06-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

The image above depicts how I felt last Sunday morning; a tiny tendril of consciousness trying valiantly to penetrate a rather blank corner in my mind. Sadly, this isn't a faked photo* but an actual example of Magic Garden's tenacious efforts to infilitrate the house, Yes, that is the corner of our stereo languishing on the floorboards, still not set up 18 months after we've moved in. Yes, buying a new iPod style set-up was easier than finding a place for the old one and its companions, the big ass technik speakers. No, the digital radio hasn't quite been tuned in yet.

In refering to 'house', it occurs to me that I'd really like to use the word 'cottage' which is a rather pastoral view of our abode, if ever there was one. The C word invokes a bucolic exsistence where I grow all our fruit and veg and keep livestock, chooks at least, sauntering out in my Flake lady hat collecting eggs as the sunrises. Truth be told, the closest I've come to keeping chooks is going on a hen's night. The two pasttimes really aren't that dissimiliar; each lady must be kept fed and watered, with a close eye on the proximity of foxes...which brings me neatly back to why I felt so dusty last Sunday morning. One of this lady gardener's oldest friends is getting married and she came up specially from Melbourne to celebrate! Which is so thoughtful as we're all travelling down for the big day and in order to show our gratitude, seven of her nearest and dearest Sydney sisters really put the boat out. Gorgeous girls in fabulous frocks with drinks at the revised Norfolk, dinner at Eat House Diner and then a ring-ding of sing-song somewhere on Clarence St.

The Japanese culture has made some rather significant contributions to modern life but for me, the hands down over sushi, sashimi and tempura, the winner is karaoke. What is it about confined spaces, table service preferably and singing your guts out? There is something life affirming is singing en masse, no matter how drunk and silly you are. Yes, my hangover the next day was shocking. Yes, I am scared to see the photos. No, I don't care and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat...or a Phil Collins' drum solo. So a big shout out to all the ladies on Saturday night, particularly Results TSAI who came in whipped that playlist into submission and Miss Staples who whipped up an alternate venue when we were too late for our initial booking at Ding Dong Dang. What a wonderful knees up for our beaming bride in her chickadee tiara; a hen's night is one of the nicest rituals of modern day life, up there with kitchen teas and baby showers. So lovely to pay tribute to the bravery involved in leaving the known behind and embarking on an adventure in life, on a bicycle built for two. Looking forward to seeing you all south of the border for round two!
My top ten Karaoke hits, in no particular order:

Scissor Sisters, Take Your Mama
The Carpenters, Rainy Days and Mondays
Elton John, Benny and the Jets
Phil Collins, In the Air Tonight
Womack & Womack, Teardrops
The B-52's, Love shack
Madonna, Like a Virgin
Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer
Duran Duran, Hungry like the Wolf
Survivor, Eye of the Tiger
Toto, Africa
Salt n Pepper, Push It
The Police, Roxanne
Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 or Islands in the Stream
Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
Sonny & Cher, I Got You Babe
Pat Benetar, Love is a Battlefield
Anything by Carole King

Well, more than ten but good to have a reference for next time! Between a sushi train and an onsen, a karaoke parlour is something that is definately missing from the mountside lineup. Anyone takers, anyone?

ps: if you found yourself on the mornington penninsula anmd were keen for some snow monkey frolicking, go here: http://www.peninsulahotsprings.com/

*you know me, a whiz with photoshop!

2011-05-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, before the rain began in earnest, I spent a very happy time pottering about Magic Garden, sprinkling blood and bone like fairy dust and deheading the last of the roses. Miss C helped me plant the first of the broad beans and in the space where most of my echium had been, we made a bed of leeks. During some harsh winds last week, the echium I'd bought at the last Bilpin Rare Plant Fair had had its central stem blown clear away. It had been no bigger than my hand and I'd congratulated myself regularly on how wonderful it was looking. Well over a metre high and a good two wide. Pride goes before a fall, they say...only three lateral branches remain and I'm hoping to encourage them to set root. Who knows if it'll work, I've gone for the layering technique as they were all but on the soil anyway and have heaped some lovely, potent vegie patch mix from Tunks over each. I've a feeling they might be too woody to take, we shall see.

Whilst I was admiring these sasanqua camellias out the front, I was stopped by a gentleman who had known Magic Garden's original owner, Mrs Batty. I often think of her and it tickles me that this happens, people who knew Mrs Batty are so keen to let me know how thrilled she'd be to know her garden was being restored with love and mindfulness. Positive reinforcement makes a world of difference, particularly when it sometimes feels that progress is slow. It's nice to know that others can see the improvement and that the person who had gardened so lavishly and passionately would approve. Well into her nineties, Mrs Batty could be seen working away in the gloaming and I can only hope that I might be just as spry.

Things your mother told you...

2011-05-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

No matter how frigid the weather outside, up mountainside if the sun is shining and the wind factor is low, you have to be happy...except if you've sucumbed to some random illness and then given it to both your children. Then malaise of epic proportions sets in and it seems there's not enough stiff up lip in the world to get you out and about. And worst of all, you know that the smallest effort will make all the difference. Sometimes I think my totem animal is the hippotamus, I love a good wallow.

Thankfully, after a week of this carry on, on Saturday I finally managed to shake off the shackles and get out into Magic Garden. A simple afternoon in the autumn sunshine, planting clever clover, radish and more garlic; transplanting some succulents and the last if the butterfly plant.

It's true: fresh air does you the world of good.

finally...

2011-05-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

The problem as viewed from Miss C's bedroom.

As I mentioned recently, I have what some might call a procrastination problem...I prefer to reconceptualise this issue as a gestational solutions-based paradigm. Which means, I simply can't stand making a decision for the sake of being able to say I have done. I'd rather take my time and allow the way of proceeding to present itself in the fullness of time. And when it comes pecolating down or bubbling up or however it arrives, it feels good and right and you can move forward knowing you've not wasted time or more frustratingly, money. This approach is more correctly called a discipline, as it requires much; it is especially well suited to matters of the heart...and gardening.

Since we took on Magic Garden, Husbando and I had loosely decided to work front to back; pruning, removing noxious weeds and improving the soil with mushroom compost and sugar cane mulch. Then, the plan was to leave it for a year and see what happened. To be truthful, finances didn't really allow for much else! But now that our self-imposed moratorium on decision making has passed, it feels like it's time to start slowly making some improvements. As always, the onus is there to avoid pointless, pretty, busy work and focus on things that actually need doing. Ah, the conundrums of modern life...what happens when you're aware of what needs to be done but can't decide on the resolution? Enter the gestational solutions-based paradigm and allow the universe to provide!

In the front yard of Magic Garden, there was a clearing that had been loosely paved by very old rock. Nothing too special, it was slippery and uneven and featured a horror show of a blackberry infestation. In my frugal state of mind, I decided that I could use that rock to make an attractive stone wall elsewhere and dug it all out. Of course, the stone wall got waylaid and now I have an even weedier mess than I started with. Oh, the joy of pointless pretty, busy work! However, now that I have repackaged high calibre indecisiveness as a gestational solution-based paradigm, I am proud to announce my course of action has been revealed...in the UK mag, Living etc.

The solution kindly provided by Living etc. May 2011

Using the hot pink rhodo as a central point, recycled sleepers will radiate out like spokes on a bike. These will act like stepping stones of sorts and also break up the expanse of gravel in between. Only question now is what type of gravel? I'm leaning towards crushed pink granite, which should work nicely when the rhodo is in bloom. And if it ever stops raining and we get this project sorted before we see the first blossoms, I'll be very pleased.

I'm a fall...

2011-04-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Every season has it's joys but up here mountainside, it can be hard to decide which season provides the most cause for celebration and delight. Summer is looked upon fondly when warmth seems too far away and spring is all open garden showmanship and the pizazz of petals. Winter is brisk walks and hot chocolate and well, autumn...autumn can feel like the most mixed blessing of all. There's a sadness as the air turns cold, especially this year as we seem to have bypassed the Indian summer of years gone by. I hope this is just a meteorological blip and not further climate change confusion; I love how crisp mornings burn off into long, hot afternoons, just perfect for finishing off those little jobs as the last of daylight savings ebbs away. But c'est la vie, not to be this year and so this post is a simple share and declare. I hope you enjoy the colours of Magic Garden in all it's autumnal finery.

The beautiful weeping maple that is the autumn's centrepiece in out front yard. I have enlarged the bed beneath it and will be planting daffodil bulbs this weekend...rain, hail, preferably shine.

Ugg boots have replaced thongs in my gardening footwear selection. FYI: they have been waterproofed.

Dusky red sedum, another gratefully received donation from my lovely next door neighbour.

Prehistoric mystery plant...the flowers (fruit?) look like they should be swaying beneath the sea...in an octopus's garden, in the shade.

Definitely fruit this time! This viburnum is just to the right of where my grand plan vegie patch will be situated. Now, if only I could lock off the design as I really want to have this patch up and running for next summer. Whilst I'm a big believer the positives of procrastination; I feel that a period of gestation allows the right path to come forward. Sometimes, though, you just have to make a decision or otherwise, life just keeps passing you by.

This is the type of countenance I strive for when gardening. She is tremendously tacky and definitely not what Husbando has in mind for the Magic Garden sculpture park! But for some reason, she and her smaller twin stay insitu.

The last of summer's sweetpeas...oh, the sadness.

larvae maria!

2011-04-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

The beast with two backs has bred! I wasn't sure at the time, whether I had actually caught the lady beetle inflagrante or if it was simply one rude beetle trampling over another but now with the help of wikipedia, I am sure. The fuzzy yellow sausage on the left is the larva which changes skins four times before pupation occurs. Four times! Basically, the skin doesn't grow with the beetle, so the old skin splits and a new larger skin is revealed beneath. If only my battles with dress size was so easily resolved. And unlike many insects, the larvae do not have the protection of a cocoon as they go into the pupate stage. I had been perplexed by this process as the newly revealed beetles seem to have especially soft, almost dull shells. It is though only time and exposure to air will harden them up. I tried to capture this delicate stage in the image on the left but for once, the iPhone camera has let me down.

Thanks to kidcyber.com.au for this delightful image.

I have been so excited to see the next generation of lady beetles emerge in Magic Garden. Not only are they fun to watch with little kids, they do a marvellous job of helping to keep the aphid and scale population in check. Plus, they are simply gorgeous little spots of colour. Though if you check the site below, you'll see that many species of lady beetle are actually grey or brown or black. What fascinating creatures they are!

http://www.ento.csiro.au/biology/ladybirds/imageGallery.php?pageNo=3

On one of our frequent lady beetle inspections, divine miss C and I uncovered this bobbydazzler of a zucchini turned marrow. I was sure it'd be rotten on the underside considering just how wet it's been but no, this marrow was intact and ready to eat. Thanks to Stephanie Alexander for the handy marrow scale of measurement (somehow a matchbox just wouldn't cut it!) and also for her spag bog recipe, which in a very pleasing instance of serendipity, I had made a batch of the day before. I do love a spot of freezer stockpiling and long for the day when I have a more freezer real estate.

It's easy when you cook in a solarium...

Voila! Marrow stuffed with Bolognaise! As I already had the spag bog sorted, this dinner was as easy as slicing the marrow and scooping out the seedy centre. I mixed the seedy goodness back into the bolognaise and then whacked it back into the marrow boat. Husbando grated some cheese over the top and we popped it in the oven at around 180 degrees C. 45 minutes later, the marrow was soft with the bolognaise's oily goodness and we served it up with garlic bread and broccoli. Delicious and even tastier for having used the marrow.

Under the rainbow

2011-03-17T04:22:00.000-07:00

Straight from the Digger's Catalogue

There are many ways to celebrate St Patrick's Day but for this lady gardener, it's never been about drinking copious amounts of green beer. I like to speak to my grandmother as it's her birthday and then follow up with a sweet pea planting extravaganza. For some reason, St Patrick's Day is the traditional day to plant peas in the Southern Hemisphere, though apparently you have until Anzac Day to get your seeds in place. I've tried to find out why St Pat's is the day but to no avail. I wonder if it might be as simple as tying the reminder to an actual 'day' is a good way to get it into people's consciousness. However, today is a drizzly delight and not so conducive to planting with my 3 and a half year old helper in tow plus the seeds I've ordered ('Painted Lady' and 'Matcuana' from the Digger's Club catalogue) haven't arrived yet. This is no fault of the Digger's, my deliberations took an overly long time. I'll use the seeds I saved from this summer's flowers as well but I'd like to introduce more reds and pinks this time round and start moving away from quite so much purple.

With a quiet day planned, only so much lego can be built and fairy snap played so I needed to come up with an alternate St Pat's Day plan fast. I've been meaning to make a batch of green tomato chutney for weeks now and today proved to be perfect. Serendipity at its finest! I collected a good 2 kilos of green tomatoes while Miss E was sleeping and Miss C was busy with Play School. Half an hour later, we were in business. The beauty of of this chutney is two-fold; by removing some of the green fruit, it frees up the plant's energy to ripen up the remainder. This is specially helpful if your summer hasn't been consistently hot and let's you utilise fruit that may have spilt due to too much rain following intense heat. This year, the mountains seem to have had every possible permutation. The second advantage is that green tomato chutney is quite simply and totally delicious, well worth stock piling. I find it really hard to get the keep/give away ratio right and by the time I've run out, I'm cursing my largess. If only there wasa reliable way to estimate how much chutney I'll need to last through to next year...

The littlest sous chef in action - love that motion blur!

The recipe I use is very simple and based onthe one in the Australian Women's Weekly's 'Book of Perserves.' I'm not sure if this treasure is still in print but it's a fabulous resource so snap it up if you come across it on ebay or at a garage sale. AWW say to use dry mustard powder but I prefer to use freshly roasted mustard seeds, ground in a mortar and pestle.

You'll need:

1 kilo of green tomatoes, washed and roughly chopped
- feel free to throw in some ripe ones if you can't quite make up the full kilo
1 large onion, red or brown, whatever's in the pantry
1 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup raw sugar
2 tsp freshly ground mustard seeds
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp cornflour

Throw all the ingredients, except for the last tbsp of vinegar and cornflour.
Bring to the boil and then simmer covered for 40 mins until the mixture is pulpy.
Then ass the remaining vinegar and cornflour and stir until the mixture boils again and thickens.

Quite the tub ring in this shot...

While the mixture is still hot, pour into hot sterilised jars and then seal once cold. For more infomation on sterilisation, check Google. I cheat and use the baby's steriliser in the microwave.

All that's missing from this picture are the gingham lids tied with apron strings of love!

Whilst this chutney doesn't look the prettiest, it is super tasty and loves to served with any type of pork product, a sharp cheddar or the vegetable and lentil pie from Hominy bakery in Katoomba.

Please note: I am the queen of not necessarily following recipes to the letter. this batch, I forgot to 'cover and simmer for 40 mins' and instead I just let it simmer for hours on end. As the pot I used was extremely heavy, this took hours. If dancing you're own steps here like moi, take to keep stirring as you don't want the mix to burn and catch on the bottom. This recipe should make approx. 3 cups but I did a double batch and that's why there are so many more jars in the final shot above. Such a bounty, I'm well pleased with myself.

I'll be with you in cherry blossom time...

2011-03-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Early last spring, Husbando and I found ourselves off to Young, NSW. Australia's cherry capital is still an old fashioned country town, the main drag is wide and quickly leads to the industrial end of town. There's only the slightest whiff of gentrification, with a combo deli-cafe on Boowora St and the local interior designer's HQ in the block behind. Good design is needed everywhere, I guess. As blossoms had begun to pop mountainside, I was anticipating a fervent show from the local fruit trees but I was to be disappointed with the exception of the geranium below.

And this is where I must make a confession...on occasion, I am inclined to theft. Never anything with an actual price tag, almost only ever snatches of geranium and pelagoriums. However, this instance is a sobering one as I quite willfully and in broad daylight, snapped off three pieces of this geranium...which was found outside the church where the funeral we'd attended had been held. As my hand reached out, I remember thinking that this could risk the wrath of god* but the garish colour held sway and I plucked away, quickly jamming the pieces into my handbag. At home, I popped them in some water and waited for them to grow roots before planting them out.

Of course, it is far nicer practise to approach the owner of the plant you'd like to pilfer and ask if they'd mind if you took a cutting. Most gardeners enjoy the complement and are more than happy to oblige, particularly if you whip out your own secateurs, rather than just breaking plants willy-nilly. Alas, my manners where somewhere else that day and I didn't find the priest who officiated to ask if he felt his God would mind. Obviously he did as a couple of weeks later, I got to my front door where I'd recently planted out some salmon coloured geranium cuttings and they'd disappeared. Spooky! I think I have really pissed off a god that I'm not even sure I believe in...I kid you not!

*nb: small g is intentional in a multi-denominational world, in encouragement of a more pluralistic sense of spirituality. I'm not sure how I can really justify my behaviour that day except to say that when the two surviving cuttings are really flourishing, I intend to give one to the person whose father we farewelled that day. But what to say?

Tart for a tart

2011-03-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

It is my pleasure to present to you, the last of this summer's leeks. It's quite hard to take a shot of your bounty in the left arm with the camera in the right, very hard to titivate and I feel the angle doesn't really do justice to just how many leeks make up an armful. I guess this difficulty really presses the case for an old fashioned trug. This lady gardener does love the romance of wandering through the garden's gloaming, trug in one hand, secateurs in the other, plucking produce and blossom hither and thither.* I like to imagine that this is what the woman from the old Flake ad is upto when she's not busily devouring chocolate under that tree. She is wearing the perfect hat.

This trug above is not so old fashioned but indeed fashioned from something old. Very impressive recycling! I must speak to Husbando about sourcing some old tyres from work...perhaps I can also find the how-to for tyre swans. Many thanks to Kathreen of Whip Up for the image above. Check out her fantastic site with the link below and whip up your own tyre trug! http://whipup.net/2009/04/20/diy-tire-trug/

And so this what become of my lovely leeks. Not the most marvellous shot as I am not any kind of food stylist and what's more, I just really wanted to get eating. Between myself and my fellow diners, Husbando and his Mum, the verdict was unanimous - divine! I use Jamie Oliver's Greek Rustic Tart as a base and simply swapped out the spinach for sauteed leeks, the fetta and haloumi for gruyere and goat's cheese and threw in some bacon. Go easy on the goat's cheese as it is very rich and a little goes a long way. Plus, it's kinda expensive so nice to keep some in reserve for other treats. Goat's cheese, spanish onion and rocket bruschetta, anyone? I like to use Meredith Dairy Goat's Cheese as it's marinated in olive oil which is delicious long after the cheese has left the building. Stephanie Alexander was helpful as always with tips on leek prep, though I chose not to slice my leeks lengthwise and left them as more aesthetically pleasing rounds. However, I did pay the price for this headstrong approach (who am I to question Stephanie, really?) and burnt my fingers pushing the lovely soft concentric circles through.

Jamie Oliver's Rustic Greek Tart -

450gr packet of frozen spinach, thawed; squeeze out excess liquid
1 sheet of Ready Rolled shortcrust pastry
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
150gr haloumi, grated
120gr danish fetta, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme to sprinkle (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
2 eggs
small container of pouring cream

~ please note, Ii am very liberal when making these and tend to use the whole packet of haloumi, fetta and spinach. The above quantities make about 12 individual pies or one large one.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C

If making individual pies, grease a cupcake pan, divide up pastry accordingly and press into pan - I find it easiest to cut sheet into squares and trim excess later, if you are feeling less than rustic! If you don't trim, keep an eye when baking as the edges are more likely to burn. Use alfoil to protect, especially if you plan to reheat later.

Spread spinach and garlic over the pastry, then haloumi, fetta and herbs.

Lightly beat 2 eggs into about 2/3 of the cream and season w salt and pepper.
Pour gently into each pie. If it seems too eggy, disperse with a little more cream.

Bake for 15 - 20 mins for individual pies or 30 - 40 for one large slab.
Pastry should be golden brown and the filling set.

Serve with lemon wedges and a fresh green salad and enjoy with friends!

*not to mention getting overly lyrical with her language.

Blogger's lament...

2011-02-27T18:25:00.001-08:00

The final day of February, autumn's on the march and I haven't managed to get anything up since the third. Shame on you, lady gardener; there's been so much to share. The zucchinis just keep coming, though due to the hot and rainy conditions, I'm losing alot to rot. But for a first foray, I have been very pleased. The multitude has given me ample opportunity to refine the zucchini slice recipe, half a cup of oil is way too much and results in a very soggy, oily slice, a quarter of a cup is definitely the more responsible option. I've also been enjoying tomatoes in dribs and drabs; romas, cherries and the first of the yellow pear are just starting to come on. Each season, I love to make my green tomato chutney so keep an eye as I'll post the recipe soon. Leeks and beetroot have also been pulled and again, I am revelling in triumph, a leek tart was devoured before I even thought to photograph its perfection - shouts out to gruyere* and goat's cheese for coming to the party!

Another seasonal bonus is the second flush of roses. The old fashioned beauty above is delightfully scented and very full in its bloom. It occurred to me last night that roses, like boats are always female. I call this beauty, Pink Panther Perfection...you can call me the Queen of Alliteration.

View from the back steps...the cherry down the back is already sporting a few tentative orange bronze leaves.

*If I were in charge of a marketing campaign for this cheese, it would definitely include the phrase gru-YEAH!

the beast with two backs

2011-02-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

How awesome is this? Have to believe that this is ladybird love and not just one ladybird getting all road rage with another. I've been amazed at how many ladybirds have flocked to my zucchini plant, the one of wrote of in my last post was obviously the scouting party! You can see in this shot how much they've enjoyed feasting on the leaves, plus in the background is the second flush of Hula Lady at Sunset. I feel a real kinship with these little beauties as I'm snapping off the zucchini bounty they leave behind. For a first attempt with zucchini, I am thrilled with the results and am now in the thick of a zucchini cuisine crusade. A personal favourite is Zucchini Slice, a recipe perfected by my fabulous mother-in-law which is perfect for lunch or light dinners, especially on days as stinking hot as this.

You need:

3 decent zucchinis, grated and preferably homegrown - I feel entitled to gloat!

1/2 cup oil of your choice

5 eggs

1 cup SR flour

1 cup grated cheese

1 onion

3 bacon rashers or equivalent of ham

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

2 grated carrots

Salt and Pepper

Ground Cumin

Mix oil and eggs, add the flour and then mix in all the other ingredients, slap in a loaf tin, lined with baking paper. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180degrees C for 45mins or until cooked through. Serve with a flourish and a handpicked green salad just because you can and aren't afraid of being called a show-off.

Roaming in the Gloaming

2011-01-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

Apparently dusk in Australia is quite abrupt in comparison to that of the Northern Hemisphere, where that precious part of the day's end is called the gloaming. I feel there's something very Tolkien, very middle earth about the notion. On a perfect summer's evening mountainside, these are some of the things a hobbit might see in Magic Garden, before dawdling back to their burrow and pouring themselves a large G & T.

I do so love the passionfruit flower. I like how obvious the structure is and how neatly each component overlaps and layers the next. I found this one in tangle with a Daphne halfway down the garden path and neither plant could be said to be flourishing. The passionfruit is super straggly and is suckering everywhere and the Daphne is yellowing and lacklustre. Whilst Daphne usually thrives in this cool climate, sadly, it isn't really appropriate for passionfruit, a truth I learnt the hard way in my first garden at the Gospel Hall.

However this provides a fabulous segue to one of my reading highlights from last year was a book called Indelible Ink by Fiona McGregor. The main character reinvents herself, empowers herself through a late in life tattoo addiction and the designs she chooses are very botanically correct impressions of her favourite plants. In effect, she becomes her garden, the vine and flower of the passionfruit feature prominently as her confidence grows. I'm too much of a scaredy cat to ever contemplate a tattoo (and I'm not so secretly thrilled I never acquired one during my misspent youth) but McGregor's prose had me seeing so clearly how beautifully the passionfruit vine could adorn a body.

Leeks apparently enjoy the company of carrots, celery and apple trees and whenever I can, I do like to companion plant. However, leeks also like similar situations to the Allium family so in theory, lettuce and salad leaves should work as well. As these greens are pretty low impact, I hope I'll be supplementing my salad bowl in time.

If you were a tiny creature beneath this cathedral like canopy, perhaps you'd feel inspired to religious conversion...or maybe you'd wonder who'd put the acid in your drink?

All hail my Zucchini triumph! This is my first attempt with these magical members or the Curcurbita family and I am thrilled with the results. Both the male and female flowers can be eaten but only the female flower will bear fruit. According to Wikipedia, strictly speaking, the zucchini is an immature fruit as it is technically the swollen ovary of the female flower. Which is a somewhat disturbing thought...if your zucchini plants are producing too many swollen ovaries, this provides a perfect excuse to pick and stuff the flowers and then flash fry in a light batter.

And as I say goodbye, I invite you to say hullo to a lovely ladybird friend, I think my favourite of all the insect visitors. This little lady was obviously very happy with a zucchini leaf dinner as she hung around for over 2 days!

Snakes in a motherfu*kin' orchard!

2011-01-09T01:52:00.000-08:00

In an effort to follow through on an important resolution; which is to actually do the cool things we see advertised*, rather than just say 'Oh, that looks interesting, I must put that in the diary, I must book tickets,' and then not, the day after New Year's Day (aka January 2), we packed up the children and gathered some friends to go berry picking at Cloud Farm orchard in Mt Tomah. The title of this post doesn't quite cover the degree to which Husbando and I had bought into the romance of fruit picking as neither of us had quite computed that when the ad in the local paper says, wear protective footwear that actually translates as a warning about snakes. However, when I mentioned this to the lovely Kellie, she said she was petrified the entire time but that no-one else seemed concerned. But as she said, everyone but us was wearing serious boots...hmm, live and learn?

Despite very humid conditions beneath the netting, we escaped with our berry booty unscathed. I felt very mother earth as I dallied, delicately placing my treasures into my very modern earth mother's green recyclable bag - another oversight as I hadn't thought of bringing a more appropriate collecting container! We came home with raspberries, both red and yellow, blueberries and gooseberries (which I'd never tried and found rather tart) and whilst I had rather grandiose plans for a berry tart, using a shortbread biscuit base and a marscapone filling, funnily enough, it didn't eventuate.

This foray to Cloud Farm was organised by the Blue Mountains Fruit and Nut Network. Their aim is to document and protect the region's rich heritage of fruit and nut cultivation through hosting events such as this and their blog, which can be found here at blogspot (the full address can be found below). Next up in the ripening rotation at Cloud Farm are apples and figs and so I'll be keeping an eye on the blog as I do love to make an apple jelly. Slowfood and the word locavore have become so overused that it's nice to see examples of these catch phrases in practise.

http://bmfruitandnuttreenetwork.blogspot.com/

If you head to their blog, you'll see that I have used 2 of their lovely images, immediately above and below. I hope this is ok and thankyou!

*I've come to the conclusion that this is vital when you live just outside a major metropolitan area. So near and yet so far! A city in a national park, a world heritage area no less! Supporting regional initiatives is a priority and one I take very seriously but it also means taking yourself further afield and making an effort to stay in touch with what the wider world has to offer. If you don't, it becomes really easy to feel that life is passing you by and that you're not a particularly interesting person. Guess it's that old classic, you reap what you sow and as our excursion to Cloud Farm proves, it doesn't have to cost the earth.

hello from hiatus!

2010-12-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

I worked in television long enough to know that a hello from hiatus is somewhat of an oxymoron. But as I am also celebrating New Year's Eve at home, alone and sober, I feel such contradictions are totally permissible. If only there was a Gilmore Girls marathon on... oh my not-so-secret shame!

Since last I wrote, it's fair to say the world has changed and then changed again. And it's made me slightly melancholy, which it shouldn't because everything and everyone is on the up. So in an effort to get to take emotional charge, I'm getting all Pollyanna on myself and I'm making a list. I'm calling it my "All kinds of Awesomeness" list, I want to remind myself of 2010's highlights.

1: Bringing home our new baby from hospital...twice. The first time, she was 3 days old and I couldn't wait to welcome her into our space. I'm pleased to report that the divine Miss E is doll baby one moment and then, old man, alien face the next - a most beguiling mix with very low monkey factor. She is just perfect and I feel quite bewitched.

2: The second involved a frightening bout of viral meningitis over Christmas and I'm so glad she's alive for us to tell the tale. It's this episode that has me so reflective.

3: Introducing our newly minted big sister to her baby sister. Being a big sister myself, I was very keen for this to go well. Husbando and I invested a lot of time telling Miss C how the baby couldn't wait to meet it's big sister, how much it loved her already, how much fun they're going to have and whilst the transition hasn't been seamless, I don't know that it could have gone much better. Husbando has already been banished to the end of the bed with the (male) cat as "this is the girl boat, Daddy!"

4: Seeing the divine Miss C dance to Phoenix's Too Young. This track would feature prominently on the soundtrack of my life. Watching your 3yr old discover her inner ballerina to it, counts as one of 2010's great laughs. Truly hysterical, one of those moments that makes you wish you were part cyborg, recording and downloading any data that you'd like to revisit whenever the desire takes you.

5: Driving with my darling Husbando. We've been lucky enough to have a couple of weekends away this year without Miss C and silly as it sounds, being together on the way to wherever, has been just a nice as when we got to our destination. There's something about the anticipation, in being in the car together, without having to keep a small person entertained, that has been a lovely reminder of who we

are. I don't want to look at Husbando and see only my children's father, nor for him to only see me as a mother.

6: Starting this blog and committing to it...and slowly telling people it exsists. In the new year, I'm going to get braver with my writing and more assertive again. I need to show more discipline if I want to make this happen.

7: Through the success of BookClub/Ladies who drink and dine, I have made some fabulous new friends this year and cemented some old ones. I feel really lucky to have such a wonderful group of women in my life. Thank-you ladies! And to my darlings who don't live so close, let's just keep those phone dates coming...friday night with a glass of wine in hand, it's almost as good...not quite!

8: I do not see nearly as much music as I used to but I like to think that now I cherry pick the gigs...this year I finally saw the Polyphonic Spree (I cried) and also Florence and the Machine. All kinds of awesome, indeed! And for Christmas, I got tickets to see Cat Power at the Opera House at the end of the month. Lucky me!

9: That despite my grief over garlic, some bulbs have sprouted! There's a tomato ripening on the vine! Hydrangeas have been uncovered! Magic Garden has taken more of a back seat than I would have liked this year, partly due to pregnancy and partly because that was part of the plan. I now have a better understanding of the garden's composition and more of an idea as to Magic Garden's future. Stay tuned in 2011!

Hula Lady at Sunset

2010-11-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

Big day today! The baby is due, in theory, the divine Miss C is off with her grandparents and so there are few better things to do other than potter in Magic Garden. Roses aplenty to deadhead and I've planted out some yellow pear seedlings, courtesy of the lovely Kellie. Am off to my favourite cafe for lunch with 2 of my favourite ladies and then it's home for a sleep. I am blooming with possiblity and the rose above is a reminder of that process...yes, I think the hypnobirthing affirmations are taking root. In time, I intend to get all Magnun PI with the nomenclature but today's not really the day. In the meantime, I call her Hula Lady at Sunset and remember good times.

Purple Sage, Purple Haze

2010-11-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

With apologies to His Royal Highness, Hendrix and the Artist formerly known as Prince, this post celebrates the very purpleness of certain parts of Magic Garden. It's kinda happened by accident and when I pointed this out to my Mum, she said how lovely it was to see just how many different shades there were in the one place. Stupidly, I'd been beating myself up abit for not "considering" my planting scheme, when in truth, there was no plan at all. Mum's call has made me see the beauty in this situation. There's five different shades of purple in this picture, the sage, lavender, chives, catmint and sweetpeas but what I really love is that this shot shows just how much my Hills Hoist garden has grown since my first post. I do need to think of some way to break up the purple haze. I'm feeling blue, simply because spring has revealed Magic Garden's very garish heart and the front yard already has the opposing purple/yellow nexus covered. These questions of colouration remind me that I've been meaning to post about the concept of the "fashionable" in garden design. What happens when your garden is so well established that such notions are irrelevant? And more to the point, is the true nature of gardening beyond such frivolous concerns? Fashion is defined by its seasonality and infers a sense of the replaceable whereas a garden must transcend the 4 seasons and continue to evolve in spite of them. As with any good design, a successful garden will invoke a sense of timelessness, I guess but then what does this really mean? All this and more, I shall discuss in a future post...

In between, I shall be making up a batch of this very delicious Pumpkin, Sage & Ricotta Lasagne. It was the cover recipe from the ABC's delicious magazine from July 2007, so that should give you some indication as to how long I've been perfecting this rather decadent dish. For entertaining the non-vegan of your vegetarian friends, it is an absolute lifesaver and very well received by meat eaters alike. It freezes really well so make 2 batches and freeze one to be popped in the oven at a later date. Serve with a fresh green salad and maybe some crusty bread, if you feel like carb loading. Also, very tasty as leftovers the next day.

To serve 4, you'll need:
1.2kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes*
1 tbs chopped fresh sage, plus 12 leaves to garnish
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
350g ricotta
1 egg
1 cup grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
8 lasagne sheets
100g unsalted butter
2 tbs chopped walnuts or pinenuts

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.

Place pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with chilli flakes & season with seas salt & freshly ground pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 25minutes until the pumpkin is tender. Allow to cool slightly then puree in a food processor, with the sage and nutmeg or mash by hand. Set aside.

Combine ricotta, egg & parmesan and season with salt & pepper.

Lightly grease a 24cm square baking pan, lay 2 lasagne sheets and spread with half the pumpkin puree. Then lay another 2 sheets and spread with half the ricotta. Repeat and then sprinkle the final layer of ricotta with the grated parmesan.

Lay a sheet of baking paper over the surface, cover with foil and bake for 35mins. Uncover and bake for a further 15mins or until golden. Stand for 5mins and in the meantime, heat the butter, nuts & sage until the butter begins to foam. Remove from the heat, drizzle over the rested lasagne and finally, artfully scatter with the additional parmesan.

*Please note, I tend to the cavalier when it comes to measuring and in this instance, the dried chilli can really pack a punch once it's mixed with the sage, so be a bit careful unless you're confident you & your guests like it HOT.

Bon Appetit!

John, the Rabbit!

2010-11-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those days but somewhere along the way, the divine Miss C and I came across this gorgeous clip by Elizabeth Mitchell...it made me smile, enjoy!

Apologies that the clip is cropped by my template set-up...even if it hadn't been one of those days, I'm not sure I could've fixed it. I'm just not that savy and you still get the general cuteness, I reckon!

Garlic and the Grocer

2010-10-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Traditionally, the first cicada sighting of the season heralds summer's arrival...however 2 days after this beautiful Green Grocer smacked into my arm (with such force, I was looking around for a bird), it was snowing! Crazy spring weather in these here parts but alas, there's no photographic record from me as I was sunning it up in Kilcare. Apart from some massive branches down from the tulip tree, by the time we returned, you wouldn't have known there'd been any freak weather conditions at all.

Funnily enough, my sister and I had been trying to remember all the names for the different types of cicada just the day before. We're talking strictly schoolyard colloquiallism, from the time when it was the height of fashion to arrange a dried shell on your uniform. Green grocers were the most common, followed by the infamous, Dark Prince...I know there were others (rudolph with his nose so bright? a cherry ripe?) but to be honest, I've never seen them and they have become mythological creatures, their names lost in the past.

But I'm hoping the cold snap has an upside. Just before my encounter with the Grocer, I'd planted the lovely cloves you can see above. Depending on where you live, planting should usually be done in the autumn...however, colder regions can also plant in the spring. After Saturday's little episode, surely the mountains count but the Dept. of Primary Industries fact sheet has me worried! Planting this late in the year will probably result in smaller bulbs. C'est la vie, I'll just plant more in the autumn and we can all look forward to my compare & contrast post.

In keeping with companion planting principles, I've placed the cloves between the roses that encircle our standardised cherry. When we first moved in, I planted chives next to a rather sad rose under the Hills Hoist and one season on, both are absolutely thriving. Enough proof for this lady gardener that the relationship is mutually beneficial. Other members of the Alliaceae family include, onions, shallots and leeks, so any of these would be happy enough in your rose beds. However, to have any chance of sucess with a garlic crop, you must buy certified organic as non-organic product is sprayed to increase its shelf life and keep it from sprouting, this renders it infertile. How very appealling!

Firstly, I removed the most papery of the skin, leaving alittle of that closest to the clove. Then, I gave the soil a good turn over. Garlic likes a high level of organic matter and having treated the roses to some blood and bone (which is chockful of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium) earlier in the month, plus the sugar cane mulch I'd dug in at the same time, I reckon this patch is pretty rich in this respect. I plan to keep feeding the bed with blood and bone until the plants start to set bulbs. Apparently too much nitrogen based product produces bulbs with shorter shelf lives. More of a concern for the commercial operation but still, good to know.

I popped my cloves in at 15cm intervals, 5cm deep then covered my ring between the roses with a light layer of mulch to keep weedy competition at bay. According to the DPI paper, garlic benefits best from light, yet frequent watering. As the shoots brown off or the necks softten, restrain your watering cans as this indicates the bulbs are nearly ready to be harvested and too much water at this time could cause your treasures to rot.

There's not much else to do...except await the autumn and plant more and then wait 'til this time next year so I can test the small bulb prophecy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYfcb3LAoX4
This is just one of the videos I watched, there are stacks (honestly, what can't you learn on youtube?) but I post this one for its funky lenny kravitz ripoff intro!

2010-10-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

This is the first shot of the Ginko's return. Perhaps it's too early to call it triumphant but I gotta say, I'm feeling pretty damn relieved! Down in the glade, a pre-dawn chorus is singing HALLELUJAH! And I'm talking Handel's full-on choral extravaganza - not pissy Jeff Buckley. In the background, you can see yet more rhododendron love; I think it's a very pretty moment in time when blooms are yet to unsheathe and delicate new foliage is just unfurling...this awareness is at the very heart of my gardening love, these tiny progressions truly warm my heart.

Neighbourhood Watch

2010-09-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

These massive beauties make me laugh and until Jeff Koons hits town and shapes some of his iconic puppies out of them, my artistic aspirations will have to be satisfied by cake decorating; these particular blooms are the exact shade of Allen's 'Ripe Rasberries.' I almost feel like sending in a suggestion for the Women's Weekly Birthday Cake book! You can tell I'm still reeling from Miss C's birthday extravaganza...

At this time of year, every shade of Rhodo is ubiquitious and yet completely unique. They are seriously showy and have always struck me as azaleas on steroids. In my little bit of research, it seems this is precisely the case both in flower and stature; the main difference is one of size. This shot demonstartes it perfectly - you'll never see an azalea even vaguely comparing to a telegraph pole!

Additionally, most azalea blooms occur individually; that is one flower to one stem, whereas the rhodo's blossoms occur en masse. At Magic Garden, I have one pink specimen that is so heavy with flower, half the plant has bowed under the weight and there's a gaping hole between top and bottom. This has provided a neat window to an azalea behind but it does make me wonder about whether a rather severe prune is needed. Thanks to the good folk at wikipedia*, I've also learnt that whilst the word Rhododendron comes from the Greek: ροδον, rodon, meaning "rose", and δενδρον, dendron, meaning "tree", it cannot lay claim to its own alcoholic beverage. Next time you're in Korea, keep an eye out for Tugyonju, "azalea grape wine," and please, do post your thoughts.

As mentioned in my last post, the crab apple will always have a special place in my heart. I think they are just delightful, a tart intrusion upon the landscape and a more robust blossom than most. I am amazed that Magic Garden hasn't one hidden away and it saddens me greatly. Plus, OMG is so very well established, it's not like I can just pop one in willy-nilly - there's literally no room and even if I was to shoehorn one in, it wouldn't be fair as there's so much competition, it wouldn't thrive...which would disappoint me doubly. Until I can work out a more equitable arrangement for all, I am taking solance in my lovely neighbour's delighful specimen.

Positioned in the front yard, it is hidden behind a rather high hedge and you really only notice it from the side gate. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that its neighbour is this very fetching Magnolia, another favourite whose close proximity I had been lamenting. I love its languid branches and between these two beautifully compatible bedfellows, the canopy they create is a haven of cool shade. All that's missing is a hammock, a good book and me...maybe a houseboy on hand with a fresh pitcher of homemade lemonade.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron

Spring has sprung?

2010-09-10T03:35:00.000-07:00

Confession time: the first of September came and went and I missed it! I am quite happy to blame baby brain because I'd planned a celebratory 'Spring is sprung' post and I got to last Friday and realised I'd missed the boat. That's what happens when you're 30 weeks pregnant. I keep telling myself, just because the calendar says it is so, doesn't mean the weather is listening and up here mountainside, we are definitely a good month behind our warmer coastal cousins.* So despite the jaw dropping display of blossoms that are just everywhere, I am no closer to returning to my most beloved barefoot summer self. A painted toenail self, buoyant on warm waves of salt water and summer sun. A bikini figures prominently (this is how we know this is fantasy land!) and daylight savings is as permanent a fixture as my healthy, glowing tan.** What I have worked out is that now that I know the calendar has turned, mentally my brain is telling me it should be getting warmer...with the exception of last Wednesday, it's just NOT!

This particular day of spring's beginning is the divine Miss C's birthday. She is three and oh so fabulous, oh so hilarious. Amazing that between Husbando and I, we have managed to keep this tiny creature alive, that she's articulate and thriving, funny and kind. The next year is going to be massive for her, she's off to pre-school and perhaps more importantly, about to become a big sister. After her party today, she was a little miffed that no-one had brought her Pooh Bear a present, as it is his birthday too... who can blame them, it hadn't occurred to me either! But I think it's a telling aspect of her personality, she didn't let it get in the way of her opening her own presents and she didn't bring it up until we were getting ready to have a much needed nap. I like to think this reveals her good manners. When I suggested she'd just have to share her gifts with Pooh Bear, she took it in her stride and he wore her new tiara out for dinner tonight. So even if he is inanimate, she knows how to share and I'm taking this as proof Husbando and I are doing something right.

In the weeks before I gave birth to Miss C, our Magnolia had come into flower and much like myself, the Cherry Blossom was ripening. Up on Armstrong St, the neighbourhood's best Crab Apple, (malus floribunda, I can, in fact remember some things) was a confection of pink and white, the tartness of new green leaves slowly upstaging the sweet. It's one of my favourite things, the dominant, showy blossom giving way to the fresh leaves. Reminds me of a very sickly lolly, the toffee apple and I don't mean a real apple dipped in toffee!*** Part of the bittersweet beauty of life can be marked by memories of what plants are in bloom. The spring of my childhood was always synonymous with the massed Azaleas that spelt out Lane Cove on Epping Rd, until one of my Mum's oldest friends told me she couldn't see them without remembering when her father died. Not many remain now because of the Gore Hill freeway and the bus interchange. And the Lane Cove tunnel means that unless, you're driving to Lane Cove specifically, you'd not have reason to pass and recall the fact that once upon a time, during a spring time traffic jam, that particular part of the world was that little more lovely and that someone very much loved was lost but not forgotten.

*Please forgive, sometimes I can get a tad city mouse, country mouse...I keep it in check most of the time because I really do enjoy the best of both worlds.

**Not that I in any way advocate solariums or unsafe tanning practise. However, I have become a little more aware of Vitamin D of late, in terms of the important role it plays in helping the body process calcium. No matter how sunny and inviting the day might seem, living where I do, going out with bare skin exposed for 10 minutes in 10 degree C temperatures is going to feel like lunacy! Confession number two, I guess, I do fantasise about getting tan.

***Which, for the record, I've always found rather overrated. Mostly, I guess you usually find them at fetes or fruit and veg shops and the apples used always seem to be horrid and floury. Makes me wonder if a little tart bonanza or sundowner might shift the balance...note to self, get Mum to teach me the art of toffee making.

Blossom Magic

2010-08-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here's the promised porn...you won't see me writing that too often!

At the top is Coryopsis Spicata, aka Contorted Witchhazel. After enjoying the twisted limbs so exposed throughout the winter, I am just entranced by its chandelier-like catkins. Down below is the blossom tree mentioned in my last post. I know it isn't a cherry and the blossoms aren't the same as the apricot tree close by but according to some, it is the finest blossom tree in the neighbourhood and that's good enough for me. I wish I'd thought to take a shot a day as the blossoms began to emerge and then I could've cut together a cute little psuedo time lapse piece...how totally tech would that have been! Coulda, woulda, shoulda, well it'll have to wait 'til next year. I just love the pink against the blue sky and with the winds we've been experiencing, it's a little like confetti at an Indian wedding.

2010-08-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

The distance between 2 points...

Spring is making its way up the hill and our Magic Garden is just starting to put on a show - I promise my next entry will be all blossom shots, total garden porn in this part of the world. My right-hand-next-door-neighbour told me yesterday that she considers one of my trees to be the finest blossom tree in the neighbourhood and although all I did was buy the house that had the tree, I am still hugging these words close to my chest!

On both sides, we have the most lovely neighbours who are in different ways, rather expert gardeners. This is honestly rather intimidating, which explains I guess why the comment above has gone straight to the pool room. The shot above however, is on the left-hand-next-door neighbours side and it shows the one gaping hole in a fairly private boundary. On the right, there is the amazing white Camellia you can see from the kitchen window and on the left, a jumble of Rhodo, Camellia and some other horribly invasive green thing which shan't last the summer. The hammock you can see behind the Cotoneastor highlights the problem; it looks like such a delighful place to relax but it looks right into the main area off the back of our house. And to be honest, whilst I am thrilled with both sets of neighbours, I don't want to feel like we have to constantly acknowledge each other, or worse, not use the space when the other is enjoying their own backyard. After much deliberation, it was concluded that a hedge is the only solution...

Happily, this necessitated a trip to one of my favourite places, Windy Hill Nursery on the outskirts of Bathurst. I'm not sure whether I am kidding myself or not but for buying in bulk, I feel sure that Windy Hill is the most reasonably priced nursery in the area. Hopefully, their prices do actually offset the amount of petrol used to get there! My main criteria for the hedging plants was that they should be fast growing and not be Photinas or Pittosporum. I would have loved to go with a row of Gardenia but there are temperamental little darlings and I really need more vigour in this instance. So I have chosen, the Escallonia Macrantha Rubra, chiefly because it states it is "fast growing" and is "frost tolerant". Also, I like the fact that the scale of the foliage and flower heads are quite different to the plants on other side.

Apparently, the Escallonia should reach heights between 3 and 4 metres. This seems laughable now, considering just how tiny they are. But at $12 bucks a pop, more instant gratification would have been vastly more expensive and when I do break the buying embargo, I need to be on my best behaviour. Plus, if I am going to lash out, I want it to be on a statement piece that I really can't live without...whether it's plants or fashion, the same principles of investment buying apply!

We have a long way to go...

2010-08-09T03:18:00.000-07:00

Afternoon Delight

Yesterday, I spent a very pleasant afternoon pottering around Magic Garden and in the process, picked this lovely bunch of daffodils. Apologies, as the shot is truly appalling but they are definately brightening up a dark corner of my living room and I just wanted to share!

Part of the reason I am so chuffed, is that it was the day after an annual knees up, hosted by some very dear friends and if I wasn't with child, I'd have almost certainly been feeling very sorry for myself indeed. Instead, I was tucked up in bed at a very civillised hour and awoke to enjoy a child free day, tidying up all sorts of loose ends and feeling very self congratulatory in the sunshine...until I discovered that insult has been added to the injury my citrus has already suffered. The dreaded Citrus Wasp has taken up residence below the graft and I've been so consumed by frost guilt that I hadn't looked closely enough to notice this horror. Oh Joseph Conrad, the horror! After I'd scraped off the gall, I could clearly see the heart of darkness and then to add insult to injury, the wasp larvae poked its head out. And for some reason, I couldn't quite bring myself to yank the bastard out. What was I worried about? Hurting it? Jesus, toughen up, lady gardener!

But to end on a bright note, a big hullo to my 3 followers out there in the ether...you've remade my day, thank you X k

2010-07-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Views from my kitchen...

Our Magic Garden is a riot of rhododendrons, azaleas and all 3 species of camellia. Just outside my kitchen window, I have been watching some sasanquas and eagerly awaiting the buds to pop into bloom. Here is the very first! A lovely cream with rippling, blushes of pink. Its bush is somewhat straggly and though my probation continues, I am itching for all danger of frost to clear so I can get into shaping it better. These plants are right on the fence line and have the potential to be rather magnificent screening elements. However, the bush behind the letter F is in fabulous shape and it amazes how different 2 plants in such close proximity can be... why is it so?

2010-07-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

A visit from Jack

Image courtesy of Gardening Australia*

When my family first moved back from Indonesia, it was mid-winter and freezing. I started year one and was introduced to the mythical character of Jack Frost. After especially cold nights, our teacher would exclaim that Jack Frost had been out again. Jakarta had been all about balmy humidity broken up by ferocious thunder storms so I had absolutely no concept of frost and it took me a rather long time to work out who and what Jack Frost was. As the new girl at school, I was too self-conscious to ask! As far as inhibitions go, I am so glad I've gotten over the the fear of asking the seemingly silly question. A quick check with all things Wiki, reveals that as you'd imagine, Jack Frost hails from English/Germanic folklore and is said to personify the crisp, still conditions that can devastate one's garden.

Having been fluttering about in Maui over the last couple of weeks - it's hard not to act like a tropical butterfly in that part of the world, this frost flashback was prompted by the very rude (though not unexpected) conditions that awaited upon our return. The worst frost in 60years, the headlines trumpeted! And though I got out about, hose in hand watering off the worst of it, sadly, I have a horrible casualty on my hands. The Clementine my sister gave my daughter for her first Christmas is downright decimated and I'm not sure I can pull it back from the edge.

In looking into the situation, I've realised that I've already done the wrong thing: my first instinct was to give the plant a light prune. However, the very act of pruning stimulates new growth, so I really should have waited until Jack had well and truly left the building so as not to jeopardise that process. Additionally, I've now removed any protection the dead wood was affording the fledgling green shoots beneath. Curse my itch to fix! I really should be placed on pruning probation. But prune in haste, repent with the weather! Hopefully spring will bring some healthy green nodes and I can make it up to the patient with a new pot and some potent new soil. In the meantime, the Clementine has been placed in the most sheltered spot I can find and I am trying to tempt her with cocktails of worm juice.

For the amateur meterologists out there (professionals, please feel free to weigh in!), frosts occur when the temperature drops below zero and the sky is clear of clouds. If there is no wind, any water in the air will expand and become ice on contact with cold surfaces. On a celluar level what this means is that whole structures rupture and so the plant itself struggles to survive, especially if the conditions are repeated and some idiot has given you an unflattering haircut.

I can't even c'est la vie myself out of this one.

*My frost photos really sucked!

2010-06-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

Blousy Beauty

Recriminations aside, I never meant to leave it this long...AGAIN! But life is what happens when your busy making other plans, especially when life includes a sick child, another on the way and much longed for rain. Not that I'm complaining on the weather front but after a good week's worth, a general malaise did set in. However, in an all too brief sunny spot, I took this very happy snap. This fragrant lady does look alittle tired and the buds are yet to open, but I can't believe that I still have blooms coming into flower. True, this particular rose garden is in full sun and I have been religiously deadheading and pruning after each flourish but their tenacity amazes me. As with almost all roses, I have no idea of her name and make an earnest vow to find it out. Until then I christen the old dame my 'Rose of the Day.'

2010-05-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

So horrified right now...

As winter is fast setting in, it's getting easier to stick to my original, grand plan - which was to work from front to back; giving myself the time to learn the garden and get to know its nuances throughout the year. One thing I have learnt is just how sad the decimation of a Ginko tree can be and how thorough the remorse when you realise that you should have been seriously more proactive in halting the march of a very, hungry caterpillar*. On the left is the culprit and on the right is what my Ginko should look like...and I am so horrified right now...

...and this is what my Ginko does look like.

It is a hard image to publish because my shame is great and right now, my Ginko should be a towering column of gold. But in the interests of public education (ha!) and further self- flagellation, I post this as a reminder to self that there's no excuse for such a cavalier approach to the health of my garden. Ginkos are known as living fossils and some in China are over 50m tall, though mine would be pushing 5m at best. It think this small stature can be linked to a shaded, overcrowded position. I have recently snipped off a basal chi chi or lignotuber; I think the former sounds more fun which is ridiculous of me, as these shoots from the base of the plant indicates some degree of stress in the tree which is not in the least bit funny. Especially when your Ginko has barely survived the summer and now may not have absorbed enough chlorophyll to last through the winter.

You can see the leaves that have struggled valiantly against the invasion and it is not an over-exaggeration to say that perhaps only 5% of the leaves remained by the end of summer. Caterpillars have nibbled down to the stalk of each leaf, taking the fresh new growth but leaving what I imagine must be the tougher, less palatable stalks. Ginkos are meant to have extremely pest resistant bark, perhaps this makes the leaves especially tasty! For a long time, I dithered as to what could be the cause of this problem. I couldn't see any possum poo (and they do like to shit where they eat), I knew the cockatoos were busy in the Beech and I still I didn't do anything. And then one day I saw a lone caterpillar and then I did what I should have done all along, I marched up to the Nursery and started asking questions. I came home armed with a packet of Dipell, which is a bio-insecticide, meaning that is based on natural, low-toxic and organic ingredients. I am against pesticides in general and I'm not really sure how this differs (definitely a topic for me to research more fully) but I really can't take any more chances with my Ginko. It was probably too late to apply this season, but I've done it anyway and now all there is to do, is wait...and do it all over again next spring.

My first encounter with a Ginko in all its glory was at Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park Home and Studio in Chicago, Illinois. The windy city was freezing, though it was still officially autumn and in the courtyard between the two buildings was this magnificent specimen of a prehistoric plant. When plans leave paper and the steel wool trees of the model are left behind, I think it's fascinating to see what types of natural forms architects are prepared to commit to, in their own backyards. But who knows whether Lloyd Wright picked out a Ginko in particular or whether it happened to be in situ already, he chose to leave it they regardless and this can only be because there are such striking trees. With new leaf on board, there are a luminous green - I think it's best described as kermit green, not kelly or grass but the colour of Kermit the Frog's felted body. In the autumn, they become a true golden yellow and it's hard to decide when they look best. Their leaves are a unique fan shape that lend themselves to perfect fluttering and when the leaves decide to leave, it'll happen almost overnight. For my Ginko, that will probably take the best part of 5minutes.

*With apologies to Eric Carlye, whose book(s) I do very much like.

2010-04-04T02:58:00.001-07:00

oh my dahlink !

Still on the subject of bulbs, I came across these dahlias out the front of a small fruit & veg store in Kirrabilli last week. This is one of my favourite ways to purchase cut flowers - straight from the markets & almost always cheap as chips, you can buy an armful without breaking the bank. There is something so very decadent about a massive bouquet that you've bought yourself. Only gathering up a bunch fresh from your own garden is more satisfying and Magic Garden has certainly provided quite the bounty since we moved in. Early on, I collected up the most gorgeous posy of peonies* for friends with a new baby and throughout the summer, roses have been a constant presence in the house. But alas dahlias haven't just popped up in some sun drenched corner & seeing the above made me think of all the flowers I'd like to have at my disposal. Hydrangeas are another, more gardenias, vibrant sedums & butterfly plants. Ah well, if wishes were horses...the embargo continues.

For more infomation on all types of bulbs, check out:

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/bulbs/bulbbasics.html

*note to self: please research peony care pronto.

2010-03-26T22:19:00.001-07:00

surprise me!

When I think bulbs, it used to be that daffodils, jonquils and freesias were the first to come to my mind. And gorgeous as they are, I realise now how little I knew of this amazing group, what a diverse array of colour and form they offer to our outdoor spaces. The lovelies above are part of the amazing autumn reveal that is taking place in Our Magic Garden right now and to be honest, I had no idea who or what they were. They both belong to the family of bulbs known as 'Nerine', the hot pink perfection on the right is 'Rosea' and the signal box red, 'Fothergillii Major'.

Rosea is the strappier of the two, more like curling ribbon and the Major, whilst not as delicate, is a short spiky hairdo of a bloom, a spunky offering that will brighten up any space. I'm not sure if it's because previous owners have moved dirt about willy-nilly but these bulbs are popping up in small patches throughout magic garden and I'm left to imagine what they might be like planted en masse, clashing red & pink together. Love it! Love it! Love it!

So tomorrow's plan with a sick toddler in tow, is to tie wool around each clump (preferrably colour coded with a name tag! thanks to my lovely neighbour for this suggestion!) and wait for them to die off completely both I can contemplate removal before the next spring's growing season begins. Even though, the dead folliage can be irksome and ugly, you simply must bear it out as it is a crucial part of the bulb's return the next year. By definition, a bulb is any plant that stores its entire life force in its fleshy, underground storage facility. As the leaves dies off, they are nourishing the plant below. If you can't live with the obviousness of this process, I suggest you plant your bulbs behind a lower form of hedge or barrier so when the brown hits town, it's neatly out of sight & out of mind... but I do suggest an attitude readjustment - this is the wonder of plants at their very finest!

2010-03-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

falling in love again...

In our neck of the woods, autumn has hit thick and fast - a very rude surprise for someone returning from a brief sojourn @ qualia on Hamilton Island! This abrupt change of season has revealed some absolute garden delights, like the white anenomes above, but it has made me realise I can hardly remember what Magic Garden was like when the spring was new and the ink on the settlement papers was barely dry. I thought it might be nice to remind myself of the richness that is dormant and fill this post with warmth and colour.

Without further ado, I proudly present our majestic copper beech. Standing over 15m tall, I am reliably informed that this beauty is perhaps one of the oldest in Australia and certainly one of the finest specimens still fertile, if the quantity of conkers is anything to go by. The divine Miss and I enjoyed hours of entertainment, watching punk cockatoos execute the most death-defying moves as they crushed the seed pods in one claw, hanging on with the other. Total daredevils and it makes me curious as to the role they play in the keeping the tree healthy, a very rough kind of pruning and they definately encourage the dead wood to fall. By now, the tree is looking slightly denuded and the foliage has lost its lustre, leaving the deep brown leaves to make their way to earth. The upside is that I've discovered that there's a possum or perhaps an owl box tucked way up in the old dame's branches and I can't wait to see who the inhabitant might be. Fingers X'd for owl!

This is the view from our bedroom window. You can see the two different rhododendrens, flame orange and a somewhat more subtle musk stick pink. Magic Garden really is a showcase for both the azalea and rhodendren families, I confess that I was totally blown away by the sheer variety of colours and I didn't know that some types had such gorgeous fragrances.

Lavender will always play a substantial role in my gardens and this is the monster that grows alongside the driveway. It is a classic example of how plants propagate through layering, which can be very useful if you want to create borders and hedging without huge expense. However, if your plant isn't exactly where you want more of the same, then with special care, you can easily divide the new plants from the parent and transplant them elsewhere. Have the transplant spot ready to go and then trim any dead wood and most of the extraneous foliage from the new plant. Then most gently, use your sectuers to seperate the two and even more gently, dig your new baby out. Plant in the usual tender fashion and voila, your thriftiness means you can spend your gardening dollar elsewhere. As the embargo against new plant buying continues here at Magic Garden, I'll be investing alot of time and energy in finding ways to keep my meagre budget intact.

2010-03-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

It all comes out in the wash...part 2

As I hung out my first load today, the playschool song, “wet washing hanging on the line, drying very quickly when the weather’s fine,” came into my head and it reminds me that not all the days of my childhood were sunny. There were weeks each year, often around Easter and before Christmas when it seemed to rain for weeks and our covered deck would became swamped in a tangle of damp, manky washing that my mum would refuse to put in the dryer. It would be so easy to paint her as an early environmentalist when it was much more like single mum with a watchful eye on the electricity bill. I got to my mid twenties without really understanding how to get the best out if your dryer. Then I moved mountainside and my love-hate relationship with the dryer began. There’s such satisfaction in getting your load on the line, the pleasure in bringing it down and the knowledge that just for today, you are the victor in your own personal climatic challenge. But when the weather rains on my parade, I’ll admit, I get shirty very quickly. If you can catch it just as the smell in the air begins to change, adrenalin will make your fingers fly and your load may survive. Vaguely damp washing can be saved by some quality (note: quality, not quantity) time in the dryer, though this is not optimal as it just smacks of double handling and I’m a do it once, do it properly kind of girl. But if you miss the window completely and your load is wetter than when it came out of the machine, you’re back to square one and you may as well have stayed in bed with your book.

Carbon footprints and climate change aside, it seems to me that the humble washing line is in retreat. People are so quick to rip out the ugly, rather than see that the beauty behind becomes amplified in response. Of course, I understand that increased density in housing means that space is at a premium and not everyone has room to swing a cat, let alone off a Hills Hoist. But that shouldn’t justify rejecting line drying; even the smallest yards can cope with a retractable wall mounted set-up. When a sense of environmental responsibility pervades everyday life, the Hills Hoist has never been more important. Whilst the perennial sore thumb for some and the most delightful juxtaposition for others, Lance Hill’s Rotary Hoist represents a unique contribution to the fabric of our communities. When we stay at a friend’s, we expect to do so on clean sheets. When our visit ends, we strip the bed and offer to put on a load. If I get run over by a bus, I do want to be wearing clean knickers. Just as we teach our children to brush their teeth and wash their hands before they eat, the very act of washing, folding* and wearing clean clothes is the equivalent of a box of Roses chocolates, it says that you care.** And the unexpected upside is that reaching up to peg is great for your bingo wings.

*For the record, I hate folding and don’t get me started on ironing. Not all domestic arts are created equal and this is meant to be a gardening blog...but c’est la vie, I love any excuse to say, “but I digress.”

**That I have finally come to this understanding proves that I’m a grown up now and I shudder at the thought of my twenty something self, wearing the same jeans and sleeping in the same bed linen for weeks, sometimes months on end. I wish I could tack “just jokes” onto the end of that sentence, but every word is alas, true and I still believe that jeans do get softer the dirtier they get...it’s really just a question of resource management. You have to space it out and wear other clothes in between, this constitutes airing the offending denim without compromising the leg-feel.

2010-03-03T02:22:00.000-08:00

It all comes out in the wash...

They’re built to last – a rare thing in this age of built-in obsolescence. Maybe that goes a little way in explaining the enduring romance of the Hills Hoist. There’s no finer example where form follows function but for me, their appeal lies far beyond the utilitarian, though I adore the fact that the Hills Hoist was invented by a man to make his wife’s life easier. Under full sail, a fresh flotilla of wash windward above the earth is the very essence of satisfaction, blue skies ahead and the knowledge of a wash done well. They’re ever present and a constant reminder of a time when swinging on the clothes line was the height of risqué behaviour, something only attempted when your parent’s line of sight was obscured. And as our mum had us believing she had eyes in the back of her head, we learnt to dismount at speed very quickly. I’m a bit surprised that none of us became gymnasts!

When Magic Garden was inspected and acquired in heart and not yet mortgage, the presence of the Hills Hoist was one of the things I was most excited about. Beside myself, to be more accurate. In 2200 square metres of established gardens, this small spot of brutalist hardware completely tickled my fancy. However, Husbando (where I’m coming over all Martha, secretly I know he’d like to be a Mexican wrestler), was not so enamoured. All he sees is the ugly, explosive spike and not the promise and persuasion of sun-dried sheets...so my first official project was to clear out beneath my nostalgic folly, raise the bed and create an aromatic based kitchen garden. I retained the pale apricot rose bush and there’s now a ring of lavender that will fatten up around the central pole. I’ve put in tomatoes, interplanted with basil and flat leaf parsley one side, beans and rocket on the other. There are signs the dill is coming through. A rosemary cutting from my old garden nestles against some Turkish thyme and I purchased a new sage plant because I really couldn’t wait for seeds to sprout and you really can’t live without fresh sage. Much of this stuff will grow quite tall but I’m not worried in the slightest, it’s a joy to wind up the hoist and let the wind do its work and I love the idea that my washing will dry impregnated with these scents.

Postscript: since taking these shots, we've had so much rain and attendant humidity, I'm pleased to report that there's been steroid like growth beneath my clothesline - the lavender looks plush and the tomartoes are becoming such a serious hinderance, I may have to prune them to ensure ease of rotation!

For more infomation about a true Austalian success story, check this