Living lightly and passionately for a healthy planet
Workshops and garden design
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Absorbing spring through all my senses. There are so many beautiful blossoms that are wonderful to eat. Magnolia petal cordial for me is like sipping on liquid Turkish Delight with the most delicate hint of ginger. Oh and borage flowers make the best garnish, and taste of cucumber!
Wisteria in all its spring glory, wrapping Greenlaw in a delicately perfumed embrace. Ahhh… I love spring. I love that for most of the year our home is swathed in a living cloak, protecting her from summer heat and allowing her to slip into the landscape.
Moonrise over the food forest at Greenlaw.
A hand painted card for a friend’s recent birthday. Living lightly can come in such a variety of forms and can be so beautiful and rewarding. Rather than buying a store bought card that carries with it embodied energy in its manufacturing, transport and sale, I used what material I had at home and I took time to sit and do what I love to do, made art. So really, I wasn’t just gifting something to my friend, I was gifting something to myself and the planet too. Win, win, win!!!
Painting is a watercolor of an Australian native pepper bush, which is the plant I was also gifting. I love growing this plant at home and using the leaves a bit like I would a bay leaf to spice up soups, sauces and stews.
Mandarins ripening nicely. 🍊
Glimpses of Greenlaw. Peeking through the sun kissed blossoms is the roof of our beautiful old home. Spring fills my heart and soul with so much joy, hope and inspiration. I feel the energy of the earth yawn, stretch and then explode as it wakes from its winter slumber.
Last night was a moving experience. I highly recommend everyone watch River Blue. This important film captures the confronting impact that our fashion industry is having on our precious planet. We are poisoning Mother Earth and ourselves!!
I was honored to be a part of the post film panel discussion with speaking about the need for a circular economy, reducing consumption, and extending the life of garments through initiatives such a clothing swaps. It was inspiring and heartening to hear of local entrepreneurs like creating sustainable and ethical options for us all.
And guess what?! October has been renamed ‘Froctober’! There are some great events coming up to encourage all to NOT let our fashion cost the earth. More info here: https://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/Environment/Get-Involved/Froctober-Resetting-Fashion
Stay tuned for more fabulous films as part of the WSC Earth Flix: Cinema 4 Change series.
Grocery shop in the garden.
Celery, leek, spring onion, lettuce, broccoli, bok choy, purple kale and purple broccoli.
Gardens are such healing places. Sometimes the gardens of Greenlaw give me a space to breathe, relax and reset, other times they are spaces filled with laughter and joy, and at other times they heal me as I toil in their soils and work with Mother Nature to create abundance and beauty. So grateful for this place on Gundungurra land.
Basketfuls of beautiful broccoli!
Planting seedlings out in the garden every few weeks usually avoids gluts of veggies, but this year as we were overseas for so long, I only did a few plantings. The result? We’ve already been eating from this particular patch for weeks, but we’ve had to pick quite a few at once to catch them before they go to seed. Nothing wrong with a fridge full of broccoli though. Thankfully a family favourite!
P.S. A fabulous positive of having to net all our veggies from bird, possum and rabbit attack over the last couple of years, is that it has totally protected our brassicas from cabbage moth!
In the latest edition of Highlife Magazine I give a window into the cutest produce out of the gardens of Greenlaw…. Awww…. They look so different now!!! Raising children in a garden can be a tricky juggle at times, especially if you throw in trying to grow food and a job… but it can also be so rewarding and full of wonderful life lessons (for everyone) and hilarious stories to tell for years to come! 💚💚💚
available now in newsagents and your local
I’d like to introduce you all to the beautiful Harriette, my companion in the garden yesterday. She and her family spend a lot of time in the giant trees around the Greenlaw property, but she’s never followed me around like this before. Happily feeding off worms in the soil around me, she sat right next to me, not bothered by any movement or extreme proximity. Very special. Thank you for your company Harriette. Please join me anytime. 💚💚
P.S. No idea if it is male or female. I actually suspect male as not the biggest one I’ve seen and there is a bit of blue at the top of the tail. Any bird experts out there?
Spring is definitely in the air today! It was so beautiful to feel it’s warmth in my lungs on my run beside the river this morning, to see colourful bulbs pushing their way out of the earth and blossoms at bud burst on trees in the garden, and to have a basket full of pastel eggs from Greenlaw’s girls to fill our bellies.
I’m ready to stretch out of the winter fog and be a part of the exciting energy that is emanating from the earth. Can you feel it too??!!!
Homegrown herbal magic to help heal little lungs. As always, the most important ingredient is love. 💚
Ingredients: Thyme, elderflowers, rosehips, heal-all, lemon balm, mint, rose petals, camomile, stevia and a spoonful of pollen laden honey from our hives.
How would you celebrate turning 81? How about a spin around France on a bike and dangling off a cliff in the Dordogne?? I’m so incredibly proud that that is how my amazing mother in law chose to mark the occasion. So much so that I may have mentioned her in my latest Highlife Magazine article… without telling her 😬. Ask for forgiveness later right??!! Whether it is gardens, rock climbing or castles you fancy, the Dordogne has it all. I hope you enjoy the read about our recent adventures there.
This is what my chickens were checking out the other day… violets! I was gathering them for some sweet violet syrup. Delicious on desserts and as a light cordial.
Girls were gathered, gawking and gossiping as I gathered. What was I up to? Get ready… all will be revealed in coming days!
The last of the purple potatoes made for the most delicious salad. Still tasting perfectly fresh after spending a few months buried in a dark timber draw and wrapped in hessian in the larder.
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My homemade vanilla essence has been added to the apothecary cabinet in our kitchen. I use this in my smoothies, jams, baking and even when I clean the fridge!
My Home Grown editorial in this edition of Highlife Magazine is all about the many wonderful ways swapping things can enrich our lives and the planet! You’ll also see reference to one of my favourite childhood books… The Special Swap… does anyone remember reading this? 💚💚
Happy reading!
Stock take in the larder. Next I need to move onto the freezer. Making sure we use what we have preserved from our harvests.
Delicious yacon tubers pulled from the garden today. You can do so many things with yacon; in stirfry, juices, salads, desserts… but i love them as a fresh crunchy raw snack! Yum!!
Yacon tastes like a watery carrot to me and size varies from that of a carrot up to a large sweet potato. The plant you see above grown is large (approx 1.5-2m tall), has big soft leaves and yellow daisy like flowers in autumn. I wait till the plant dies back and then dig up the buried treasure. Tubers are hardened off and eaten while I have stored the rhizomes in a dark box in the larder until spring when I’ll replant.
Im enjoying being back in my garden and peeling back the remnants of a productive season, pruning over growth and deadwood…. A few more weeks of cleaning up and then time to feed the earth with composts and manures so all these hungry plants in spring have sufficient nutrients to feed themselves, and our family.
Hmmmm…. Cold, wet winters day, but keen to get my hands into the earth and reconnect to my garden after weeks of wandering our wonderful world, and then farewelling a wonderful angel from the world. Life is so precious and fleeting. I’m aiming for abundance in life and in my garden. An abundance of love, light and walking gently.
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Last of the cucumbers … cucamelons.
Home to our autumnal garden. Just in time to see the last of the leaves fall and gather in last of the pumpkins for some warm soup and delicious rosemary and pumpkin bread.
Wandering the world is such a treat, but returning home is like curling back into my mother’s arms for a warm hug. Bliss!
Thanks to the beautiful gardens and landscapes I visited in our travels I have lots of ideas to inject into the Gardens of Greenlaw, and in garden designs for my clients. But for now… it’s time to crunch through fallen leaves and see what edibles lie hidden beneath their terracotta blanket.
A basket of Greenlaw rosemary, bay, garlic, potatoes and pumpkin ready for the pot. The rest of the pumpkins will cure here in a sheltered sunny spot for a couple of weeks and then head into the larder to be stored on their side (so condensation doesn’t form around their stems and rot). Lots of yummy winter meals right there!!!
As the garden goes to sleep here in the highlands, I’m looking forward to getting a good look at her beautiful bones; pruning branches, cutting back perennials and replenishing hungry soils, ready for her awakening in spring.
So good to be home!
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The preserved harvests of Greenlaw. 💚
Magical solstice gathering in the gardens of Greenlaw. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 #wintersostice #celebratingnature #soulsisters #livinglightly
Garlic planting at Greenlaw. These beautiful bulbs were brought out of storage, separated and plunged into freshly prepared garden beds full of compost and manure. I then tucked them under a deep blanket of mulch and gave them a seaweed tea. #garlicplanting #growyourownfood🌱 #homegrown #zerofoodmiles #resilientliving #selfsufficientlivjng @sustainableliving
Prepping our garden beds for winter vegetable planting. If you want to grow delicious, nutrient rich food the best advice I can give you is to build healthy soil! These four ingredients from our property are what I add to soils before planting in them. No need to dig into the soil, just start layering over the previous mulch. Eggs shells, comfrey leaves, compost & chicken manure, worm castings. I then plant the seedlings, water them in well and mulch deeply. #healthysoils #soilprep #regenerativeagriculture #permaculture #growyourownfood #homegrown #livinglightly
Greenlaw - Celebrating 20years of swapping! #sustainablefashion #livinglightly #communitybuilding
My sweetpeas are still blooming prolifically in late summer!!! I guess they are loving healthy soil, full sun, lots of water and regular harvesting of flowers!! 🌸🌸🌸 #sweetpeas
These are the tomatoes we pruned together a couple of months ago into a v shape. As you can see, great airflow and fruit production!! I have three beds with two rows each done in this format and this will be enough tomatoes for our family to eat through summer and autumn, as well as bottle for pasta / pizza sauce throughout the year. # growyourownfood #selfsufficiency #homesteading #livinglightly
Celebrating life at Greenlaw. Thank you all for following along in 2023 and may 2024 be another year of living lightly in this wonderful world of ours. I wish peace, kindness and love to all. 🌿🙏💚🌿 #happynewyear #livinglightly #greenliving #sustainableliving #lifeatgreenlaw #gratitude #gardenlove #gardenlife
Feverfew bobbing around in the potager garden. #healingherbs #apothecarygarden #herbs #feverfew #potagergarden #sistainableliving #livinglightly Music: Silence theme Musician: Xuxiao
I had a lot of requests for a demonstration of how I train our tomato plants, so here it is! Straight from the Greenlaw potager garden. 🌱🍅🌱🍅🌱🍅🌱🍅🌱🍅🌱 #tomatogrowing #tomatopruning #potagergarden #organicgarden #selfsufficientliving #sustainableliving #homesteading #growyourownfood #humanswhogrowfood #southernhighlandsnsw #regenerativegardening #greenliving #zerofoodmiles #permaculture #foodforest #livinglightly
One of Greenlaw’s giant(10 ish meters tall) rhododendrons greeting us at the front drive. Her slightly smaller sister (in mauve with tangerine throat) puts on her frilly frock as this one stashes hers away for the year. Endless colour in the gardens for which I’m so grateful to the person who planted these girls so many, many years ago! #rhododendrons #gardenglory #springblooms
The food forest floor is thick with strawberries. A delicious living mulch for all the espalier apples! #foodforest #permaculture #humanswhogrowfood #zerofoodmiles #homegrown #organicgarden #sustainableliving #systainablegardening #urbanregeneration #regenerativegardening #selfsufficientliving #livinglightly #southernhighlandsnsw
Late afternoon vegetable ‘shop’ in the garden. Cauliflower on the menu tonight! Thanks to the 8yr old cinematographer… he got himself through the filming by nibbling on nearby borage flowers. 🥰🥰🥰 #growyourownfood #cauliflower #organicgarden #growyourownfood #urbanregeneration #selfsufficientliving #sustainableliving #permaculture #backyardharvest #urbanvegetablegarden #potagergarden #zerofoodmiles #greenliving #livinglightly
Glimpses of Greenlaw. I am often asked what I’m growing or harvesting from our gardens at the moment, so I thought I’d do a little tour of a section of the main vegetable/ potager garden. #vegetablegarden #wintercrops #homesteading #growyourownfood #selfsufficientliving #sustainableliving #urbanregeneration #permaculture #humanswhogrowfood #southernhighlandsnsw #zerofoodmiles #gardentour #livinglightly
When you get hungry whilst gardening! 💚❤️💚❤️💚 Turn down the sound of you hate hearing someone eat! 😂😂😂 #organicgarden #eatingfromthegarden #selfsufficientliving #growyourownfood #homegrown #livinglightly
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