Winter, while dramatic in nature, will be over before we know it.

A change is as good as a holiday.

You may or may not have noticed, but I’ve been missing in action here on my blog and for good reason.  I handed it over to the loveliest person on Fivver who did a bit of an update for me.  I’m a gardener not a technical whiz and I knew I wanted to update the look of the blog but was frozen with fear for … Continue reading A change is as good as a holiday.

Video Tour: See the Garden in the height of Summer 2022

I opened my garden up to the public so they could come and see what I had created. But not everyone could come, so I decided to do a virtual tour, replicating the tour from the open day, while the garden was still looking great so no one misses out. So sit back and enjoy a personal tour of my garden. It is a little … Continue reading Video Tour: See the Garden in the height of Summer 2022

Kikuyu Grass and a chicken

How I keep the Kikuyu Grass out of my garden.

Out here on the coast the sandy soil is pretty much held in place with the kikuyu grass, especially on the hills and I have no problem with this.  The last thing we need is erosion or even worse – a blow out, where the wind whips away the sand causing a deep hole.  Once you get a blow out it can be difficult to … Continue reading How I keep the Kikuyu Grass out of my garden.

houseplants

Making May Count … Again…

Historically May has been my least productive month.  I prematurely convinced myself that it is close enough to winter that I might as well just settle down in the warmth and cosiness of indoors and wait for things to get better outside.  The thing is, May isn’t really that bad in the grand scheme of things and it should really be spent finishing off projects … Continue reading Making May Count … Again…

pre sprouted garlic

Dodging thunderstorms

I’ve done loads of things in the garden lately and it feels really good.  Up until recently my garden time has been limited and to be honest I didn’t realise how much I’d been missing it until I was fully up to my elbows in dirt, ripping out weeds.  There are a few areas in the garden that have slipped into a shameful state, and … Continue reading Dodging thunderstorms

Eggplant

I’m turning over a new leaf.

I always start the year with good intentions and normally by now my new year’s resolutions have fallen by the wayside.  However there is no rule to say this is the only time of year you can try to reset things and so I’m taking the opportunity with the start of a new month to be more focused and intentional with telling you about the … Continue reading I’m turning over a new leaf.

Adelaide Botanic Gardens

The long way to Dunedin

I’ve been away again.  I suspect it will happen a lot this year – the stars have aligned to make 2023 the year of travel for us.  I don’t mind, so long as the garden still gets what it needs and remains productive and in control, with opportunities for exciting projects, and that I can squeeze in some horticultural goodness while out and about. And … Continue reading The long way to Dunedin

Seaweed tonic soak

Welcome to Autumn

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month and no returnsies.   (Such a strange tradition!)  But here we are celebrating the start of a new season.  As much as I can’t believe we have arrived at March already having lived through the first two months of this year that still feels quite new. Ordinarily I would be bemoaning the fact that it … Continue reading Welcome to Autumn

Empty beds

Could this summer get any better?

The answer to this is ‘Yes it could’.  There is plenty of room for improvement.  We barely set things right after the last storm and here we are again with an even bigger one, that was even more destructive as there was wind in its midst. I am grateful to say we survived the storm unscathed.   For the most part the winds were blocked by … Continue reading Could this summer get any better?

Harvested Beetroot

COOKING: Is water essential?

Once the weather returned to some kind of normal summer-esk conditions, I took  the opportunity to process the harvest I was able to salvage.  While not everything did well this summer – namely my tomatoes, some things have done exceptionally well and the beetroot can be counted as a success.  The good thing about beetroot is I can pretty much grow it all year round … Continue reading COOKING: Is water essential?