sunset on October

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...

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.

Tart for a tart

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.

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!