Blogger's lament...

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!

Roaming in the Gloaming

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!