I try to always make one big "soup of the week" for meal planning throughout Winter and Autumn. This week it was my favourite irish pub soup, which contains an array of hearty root vegetables, which nourishes the body through a cold spell. It also brings back wonderful memories of Ireland, sitting down at a little round table with a bowl of hearty soup and thick cut brown bread to the side.
From the minute the cold autumn chills remind us that winter is on its way, gardeners are plotting and planning for the following year. The reality is a tad more complex. In winter we think of high summer, in spring our heads are in autumn, in summer I wonder what I will plant for colour and food in wintertime, and finally in autumn we are planting bulbs for spring. It’s a constant evolution for our gardens.
This year planting a diverse range of flowers has never been so important for pollination. The choice of flowers in our gardens is just as important as our choice of vegetables. We noticed increased pollination yearly as more butterflies, dragonflies, bees and long beaked birds take to the garden. The presence of moths and mantis insects have increased also. The more pollinators that visit the front garden, the more vegetables have thrived around our edible block.
I really like the winter season up here actually. As you can detect from the passage above, our cold temperate climate here in South East Australia is fickle.So is the frost. We never quite know when or how much we will get. In the decade I have been here I have counted from 6 to 25 frosts per year.
In recent weeks we have enjoyed warm rosy sunsets, the whales have returned to our shores, and we have freshly accepted the frosty slap of icy air that greets us each morning. The golden hues of Autumn transformed into the pink glow of winter and we accepted that it was that time of year, the days were getting shorter (...)
This winter of 2019 has been a timid one. Even as I dare to type these words I know that with the temperamental climate we live in, we could have an unexpected freeze at anytime. Yet, it’s been warm and I am currently not too worried about losing plants and all too worried that the fruit trees will not (...)
These Snowball Cauliflowers are my favourite because they do not take long at all to grow, they wont take up very much room in the garden and they are scrumptious.
These are the best flowers to put into your garden this Winter to keep the bees fed and happy so they will keep coming back, and tell all their bee friends. What will you feed the bees during the winter?
Ornamental and edible, the vintage cottage star flower called "Borage" is eye pleasing, culinary, medicinal and essential food for the bees that enter the garden. Here in Australia..
I have to say I'm on a real porridge kick lately, after discovering and feeling first-hand the benefits of buckwheat grains. By "activating" the grains overnight, it provides a lovely nutty flavour thats high in amino acids, great for your tummy and serotonin levels, meaning it actually does make you feel full and happy!