I love grasses. There are over 600 genera and some 10,000 species of grass around the world. It’s my view that they are amongst the most important family of plants on the planet. They have a multitude of uses and functions ranging from purely ornamental to agricultural. They form our staple food grains and cereal...
“The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies.” - Gertrude Jekyll When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandfather. He was a professional gardener and would quite often take me to his place of work, which I adored. I would help him pull out weeds and...
During the summer holidays my son (9) spent a week with his Grandmama at a Victorian beach where I spent much of my childhood. He had, in his words, “the most sick and excellent time.” He had Grandma pretty much to himself which meant he could eat whatever he wanted, go to bed late and...
When I was a very young girl, I wanted to be like my mother. I wanted her hair (she is blonde, I am brunette), I wanted her voice, her clothes, her intelligence, her warmth, her knowledge, her sense of humour and her beautiful eyes (they are green, mine are blue) – I wanted her very...
Early this morning my daughter and I set off on a walk. Grey clouds and rain loomed but we were determined to a) exhaust our puppies and b) find some funky things to add to our found collection. As we walked, conversation fell to sharing and the different ways in which one can do this....
In Australia, for many, December means celebrating Christmas, hot days, gifts, reconnection and relaxation, family, more hot days and approximately 9 weeks of school holidays. We’re a month into summer and the heat can be oppressive. If you’re lucky and have access to a pool, beach or outback dam, the summer break invariably means...
Sometimes something literally takes your breath away and transports you to another place where imagination, joy and gratitude collide. This happened to me last week. I was visiting a dear friend who I hadn’t seen for several years. She lives with her two beautiful daughters in the Noosa hinterland. They know that I’m a big...
Today I visited The Point Preschool in a leafy suburb of Sydney. I adore this preschool and all that they do to encourage innate connections with nature in their young students. So I was well and truly chuffed when I arrived to find a group of 4 year olds busily making the Gum Nut Potpourri...
