BRIGHT SPOTS IN A GREY DAY

 

Newspaper pot seedlings in a row with an ornamental duck

Seedlings in newspaper pots

Giant mustard seedling in a newspaper pot

Flowers on an ornamental duck and newspaper pots

Close up of circles on community garden plot planting plan

Mustard, asparagus and cabbage seedlings in front of books

Cabbage seedlings in newspaper pots

Carrots and beetroot in planting plan for community garden plot, Flemington, Australia

Cauliflower in the nature strip guerrilla garden

Cauliflower in the nature strip at night

Seeds and planting design for community garden plot, Flemington, Australia

5 colour silverbeet seedling

Flowers picked from the garden and the watercolour planting plan for a community garden plot, Flemington, Australia

 

I woke up Saturday morning at 6am sneezing. Dylan had been sick as a dog all week and had passed on the batton just in time for the weekend. But it didn’t hit me too badly, at first I was a bit sad to miss the Elwood Permablitz, but when I heard there would be an RMIT film crew there I was secretly relieved. I find being interviewed quite traumatic.

I spent my weekend just generally lazing around in the sun when he crept out from the clouds and doing a planting plan for my mum’s community garden plot at the Farnham Street Park. I’m excited to have a place to experiment with chickpeas, soya beans and peanuts! I spent Sunday afternoon in our sharehouse “loft” that I took over this winter as my greenhouse. Can you tell I was bored? I planted out a whole stack of dried beans into newspaper pots for my mum’s garden and some super hot chilli seeds. I have experimented with putting seedlings in milk cartons and toilet rolls in the past, but the newspaper pots are by far the best thing I’ve used to minimise transplant stress. They break down really well and are just so cute.

Now I’m off to make dinner, our nature strip cauliflower has gotten enormous and Dylan thinks someone will take it if we leave it too long. Chickpea and cauliflower curry I think, with coconut rice! Mmmm…

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A SPIKY PERSONALITY

Dad through the leaves, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Echidna hiding behind dried gum leaves, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Dylan looking into the gum trees, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Bush tea preparations, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Purple and pink leaves on the ground, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Dad taking photo of Pimelea Linifolia wildflower, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Riceflower (Pimelea Linifolia), Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Dylan jumping in the bush, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Running through the bush in Nadinoo Fleur's Penna Dress, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Foliage of Grey Everlasting (Ozothamnus obcordatus), Taradale, Victoria, Australia

In the bush wearing a black and white striped cardigan, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

The ground crackled with purple and pink gum leaves underfoot just the thing to fire Dylan’s bushman’s stove. He has become quite the expert  at making bush teas and after a hot cup we decided to hit the road. After frequent wildflower stop offs  we decided we better  get going if we were going to see Fryerstown by sunset. However a little prickly fellow  had other ideas and stopped us in our tracks by making a delightful but slow waddle across the road in front of the car. He then tried his best to camouflage himself as a spiky ball that just happened to be sitting on the side of the road, tucking his little snout out of sight. We decided it would be best to leave him alone as he obviously wanted nothing to do with us, and preferred us to move along, and the sooner the better if you please.

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FATHER’S DAY ADVENTURES

Dad going for a bush walk, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Old glass bottle stuck onto a tree, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Prickly Wax Flower (Philotheca pungens), Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Rusted, lichen covered metal, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Pink bells (tetratheca ciliata), Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Rusted metal and purple tetratheca flowers

Dylan bush walking, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Rusted cans on the bush floor, Taradale, Victoria, Australia
Mushroom and parsley quiche, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Salad with beetroot leaves and blue borage flowers, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

Mum looking at wildflowers, Taradale, Victoria, Australia

 

Last Sunday we took my lovely parents on a day trip to the country. The last time we had gone through Taradale we drove past this little bush glade and though it would be a sweet place to have a little picnic of quiche and tea brewed in Dylan’s trusty bush buddy stove. When we stopped we hadn’t anticipated such yelps of delight from the back seat. My parents are members of the Australian Native Plants Society you see and we had inadvertently taken them to a place brimming with pretties for them to discover. It was much like a treasure hunt and the mood was contagious, I soon found myself trying to find different flowers species to report back.

On venturing deeper into the bush we found an odd assortment of burnt and rusted tin cans, shredded rags hanging from trees, old twisted straps of metal and an old vacuum cleaner. Iwas a little bit eerie and unsettling and I was glad we weren’t caught out there on a dark and stormy night.

 

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche Recipe

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REMNANTS LIKE SPECKS OF PAINT

Broccoli Waltham in the nature strip

Cauliflower in the nature strip guerrilla garden

Broccoli Waltham in the nature strip guerrilla garden

Broccoli on the chopping board

Broccoli, chilli, lemon zest, bread crumb and parmesan pasta

Globe artichoke and orange marigolds in the nature strip guerrilla garden

Grape hyacinth flowering in the nature strip guerrilla garden

Spider in the broccoli Waltham

Broccoli and broad beans in the no-dig garden

Aquadulce broad beansgrown from seeds from the Diggers Club

Blue borage flowers

Garden diary watercolours and colourful specks of food on the plate to match

Our little nature strip guerrilla garden has burst into life as winter and spring fight it out (looks like the last week of 20 degrees and glorious sunshine will be battered down to 11 degrees and dreariness by the end of the week. Sigh.). The broccoli has formed beautiful heads and the cauliflower is shyly following. After hearing about the local naughties raiding nearby community and school gardens, in some cases departing with whole strawberry plants, I have been delighted to see no one has taken anything. Sure people seem to think it is a good place to dispose of junk mail and empties but otherwise people have left it alone. More surprising, as is technically public land people have more of a right to have a nibble, but don’t tell them I said that until after I have harvested my first cauliflower, he’s just so cute.

Here is the recipe for the Broccoli and chilli pasta with garlic breadcrumbs.

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