Garden Archives - The Desert Echo

Christmas morning

December 25, 2019 No Comments

Ember’s second Christmas. Warm, relaxed and slightly hazy with NSW’s bush fire smoke. Life is simple and wonderful through the eyes of a toddler. Nothing more joyous than playing with new old op-shop toys whilst eating pancakes on the kitchen floor.

We gathered masses of raspberries from the garden, sticky hands matching sticky faces. This time of year even the berry patch is reveling in excess.

A Christmas BBQ at the Royal Children’s Hospital Playground with family. It was the perfect time to visit Ember’s second cousin, the wards overflowing with kind people and Christmas spirit.

Indulged with love and presents, belly full of good things, this happy toddler ran through glistening water drops. Adorable in her new bathers from Aunty and Uncle, curious and carefree.

It has become a tradition, as the day winds down, for us to visit Farnham St Community Garden. The streets are quiet and the sun in washing the food forest in a golden glow.

Ember wanted to play and play and was not interested in a photo with her mama. We had to distract her with a little red apple off one of the trees. It would have been too sour for me, but she declared it “num”. It is gorgeous acting like a kid again, being silly, carefree.

Family, Garden

One

July 12, 2019 No Comments

I cannot recall with clarity a time before we had her. Now, our little bundle is one year old! Hopelessly smitten, we orbit around our bright star, warmed by every cheeky smile.

The phrase “they grow up so fast” seems programmed into our DNA. Misty eyed, it springs to our lips in all its hackneyed glory, unbidden, but undeniably true. The last year is a blur and I sometimes look at her newborn photos, unable to reconcile the tiny inert little butterball with the smiling, pointing, laughing little girl who terrorises every bookshelf she meets and charms everyone in her path. What a treat to be your parents, our darling Ember Wren.

We gave her special toys for “Plastic Free July”. The preloved wooden toys have special significance because they were made by my maternal grandfather. We also found a beautifully illustrated book called “Time for bed, Miyuki” and “Little People, BIG DREAMS” learning cards. Both are from The School of Life, a bookshop stocking everything you wished you had learned in school, what a great premise. We stumbled upon it by chance, on a rainy day, jazz soundtrack on and complimentary peppermint tea provided. This is why brick and mortar bookshops are still relevant, a warm, comforting place, to disappear into for an hour or two.

We walked to the garden and met baby friend Alba on the way. We had brief fun with the garden group friends until the heavens opened, but what is a birthday without huddling in a tool shed as raindrops are devoured by thirsty soil?

Lunch with dad in the city. Both wearing matching lumberjack plaid shirts.

A summer baby myself, a wintry birthday is a new creative challenge. However, I found if you venture into the wind and showers there is immense reward in the patches of glorious sunlight that honour the brave. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, just the two of us, in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Special moments, running wild, getting sandy and twirling around and around on the grass laughing. No clocks, no screens, just lengthening shadows as we enjoyed every last moment of our present.

Ember made a friend on the train. A kind woman who she bonded with whilst sardined between the commuters. They played “high five” and the woman told Ember she’d see her again next year on her birthday, same date, same time. A cute connection to close up a special day.

Family, Garden, Travel

Amongst the lavender

January 31, 2019 No Comments

Dearest aunty cathleen has seen Emby almost every week since she was born and helped her stay fashionable whilst being ethical in second hand but not second rate clothes. Thanks for keeping mama sane and well fed with homemade treats Catty!

Here are some photos of Emby’s first trip out Daylesford way to Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm. It was packed with festival goers and there was a joyful laid back family vibe. While I waited for lavender cream scones, I watched what seemed to be grown adults dressed as Santa’s elves doing funny little hopping dances under garlands, which I assumed was some sort of celtic harvest dance. Then we just had to check out the emus and alpacas. An unlikely pairing that both seemed to bear each other’s presence without being particularly excited.

It was sizzling hot and not particularly conducive to portrait photography but we still enthusiastically waded through lavender and bees. I was getting pretty vivid flashbacks to when we were cycling around provence. The ringing of cicadas, the smell of pencil pines, that heat and of course the fields of lavender.

Emby and Dylan disappeared for a while and were discovered playing in the the dappled shadows of some birch trees.

We finished off the day at Cafe on the outskirts of Daylesford to avoid the masses. Cathleen had brownie and ice cream for lunch and is an inspiration to us all. Friends, French flashbacks and family are an excellent way to spend the day.

Family, Garden, Permaculture design

December in the food forest

January 4, 2019 No Comments

I’m taking the time while I have Dylan around to shake off the thick layer of digital dust my photo archive has been gathering. I have so many moments to share it’s hard to pick what to tick off first.

Baby is in a feather light sleep next to me which involves a lot of dummy sucking and arm flailing, but let’s see if I can finally post these photos of what was happening in the food forest as spring turned to summer. Today a scorching hot day, so I imagine it will look a lot different when we next visit. So glad we have a watering system!

Things were too hectic with the new baby to capture the apple blossom in all its powder pink glory, but we were organised enough this year to net the apricot and peach against fruit fly and the red apple against the birds. The billowing white nets are actually quite beautiful in a way, they float above the thick carpet of yarrow like a mist of benign ghosts.

Last year the feijoa had its first two, maybe three flowers. Now it is covered in red Christmas bauble blossoms. The jar of parsley seeds I saved from home and lazily broadcast months ago has also come good. The umbels are beautiful under the trees and promise we will have parsley this coming year too without having to resow. The nasturtiums and pepinos had withered in the late frosts, but their massive amount of regrowth following has smothered all competitors.

The food forest was looking a bit grim in November and I thought it just couldn’t cope without my attention, which had been elsewhere while I was pregnant. Turns out all it needed was a good water after a dry winter and a broken timer on the watering system. Drip irrigation operational and some heavy downpours saw the food forest lush and green in a matter of weeks. The weeds also awakened though and we had to do quite a lot of grass pulling.

The silvanberry fruit are ripening and unlike the thornless bramble we have at home birds seem less willing to grasp their stems to feast.