Category: Gardening
Put your foot down | Biochar makes compost faster
What is Biochar? Biochar, or biological charcoal is an organic soil conditioner. It’s a carbon rich product made by putting any kind of plant material into a slow burning, oxygen-deprived environment. Carbon Sequestration Viewed through a certain lens, the greatest deficiency in Australian soils is carbon. Charcoal, “biochar,” is the […]
Ecological gardens of France ~ Terre Vivante
To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, Terre Vivante, an educational garden farm in France held a special open day. Terre Vivante means “living earth”, and I’d wanted to visit ever since one of their lovely little preserving books fell into my hands. There was no public transport to the closest village. […]
Hidden gardens of France that inspired Stellar Violets ~ Jardin Bourian
In the wilds of south-west France we find ourselves in the dappled shade of giant oak and ash trees, at the beautiful Jardin Bourian – a community and demonstration organic garden near Dégagnac. We met one of the Jardin Bourian founders, Jocelyne Bécé, at Jacky Dupéty’s farm. Hearing of our […]
making Mothers’ Day meaningful with Trees for Mum – 2014
My mum died from cancer when I was 18 years old. Overnight she slipped away, and our family of five became a family of four. After all the waiting, it was over, and there was nothing to do but slowly start to find our way through the dark. I remember […]
New Year musings with a magnolia planting, and John O’Donahue
“I’ve been squeezed dry,” I told a friend in Sydney yesterday as I hugged him hello. I was invited to his garden on a whim to plant an “80 million year old” magnolia stellata, and celebrate with a glass of champagne. The original Granny Smith orchard once grew where it […]
High Satiety: how to take blue corn tortillas from garden to gay culinary abandon
Mexican Corn Tortillas from garden to gob! To combat early spring chills, I’ve been getting hot under the collar over making Mexican tortillas from scratch. And I don’t mean just buying the “masa harina” flour – this is about processing it from whole, locally-grown Blue Hopi corn! If you, like […]
Making Mothers’ Day meaningful planting Trees For Mums on Stellar Violets verge in 2013
On Sunday, Stellar Violets and friends celebrated and honoured mums, planting persimmons and walnuts alongside Middlesex road. Best Mothers’ Day I’ve had in a long time. A beautiful morning brought a wonderful turnout of friends and families, some coming and going as the planting took place between 9 and 11am, […]
How to make compost in six easy steps
Compost is key to thriving fertile gardens and farms. It helps grow nutrient-rich fresh organic food that’ll make your whole person sing! Once you have the ingredients and you’re ready to start, it’s simple, like making a cake. If possible, grab a couple of friends to help you – it’s […]