It takes me two and a half hours to get this recipe on the table. The smell around the house during cooking is magical. The bread lasts for up to a week in an airtight container if it doesn’t get eaten! This recipe is also available on YouTube. Ingredients: 2 x 7g packets of dried… Continue reading Italian Flatbread with Thyme, Parmesan and Garlic
Category: permaculture
Plant Profile – Aloe Vera
Also known as Aloe barbadensis miller Aloe Barbados Aloe Growing conditions: Full Sun/Part shade/Bright shade Succulent Well-drained soil/sandy loam Suitable for pots/indoor pots/garden beds/rockeries Propagation: Propagation is easiest by separating pups from a “mother” plant. Demonstration available on my YouTube channel Click here to watch When I think of Aloe Vera, I think of sunburn. I… Continue reading Plant Profile – Aloe Vera
Plant Profile – Warrigal Greens
Also known as: Tetragonia tetragonoides New Zealand Spinach Botany Bay Spinach Sea Spinach Growing conditions: Full sun/Part shade Tolerant of most soils/prefers moist, well-drained loam Harvest regularly for best growth Perennial in tropics and subtropics/annual in cooler zones 20cm high and 200cm wide Suitable for garden beds and rockeries/good gap filler/living mulch/hanging pots Propagation: Soak… Continue reading Plant Profile – Warrigal Greens
Backyard Biodiversity Tip Two – Habitat
Hello and welcome to my garden. This beauty isn’t a dead tree, it’s a sustainable, slow-built, high-rise apartment building for wildlife. In this tree we have observed countless birds, including endangered species, mammals including possums and gliders, reptiles like tree snakes and bearded dragons and various insects and arachnids. Many people have suggested that we… Continue reading Backyard Biodiversity Tip Two – Habitat
Plant Profile – Lebanese Cucumber
My first cucumber harvest! Also known as: Cucumis sativus Growing conditions: Sun/Part shade Fertile, well drained soil Sow 40cm apart Propagation: Seeds Tropics/subtropics plant year round Temperate and cold climates plant after the last frost My daughter is a fussy eater. It’s probably karma. I know my own mother had many frustrating evenings trying to… Continue reading Plant Profile – Lebanese Cucumber
Plant Profile: Slender Mint – Mentha diemenica
Also known as: Mentha diemenica Wild Mint Very similar to Mentha satureoides and sometimes confused with it. Growing conditions: Full sun/Shade/part shade Groundcover Prefers slightly damp soil Suitable for pots, rockeries and as a filler between paving stones or driving strips Propagation: Cuttings Removing a rooted section of the plant as it spreads Keep moist… Continue reading Plant Profile: Slender Mint – Mentha diemenica
Garden Friends and Foes – what’s that?
I’ve always had “what the…?” moments in my garden and struggled to get information to explain what is it that I am seeing. Here I plan to document some of my findings progressively. Check back if you’re interested in knowing what those random nests and larvae are in your garden. This is another Lacewing. It… Continue reading Garden Friends and Foes – what’s that?
Plant Profile: Commelina diffusa – Climbing Dayflower
Also known as: Commelina cyanea (in New South Wales, possibly a different species, scientific analysis ongoing) Scurvy Plant Native Wandering Jew Creeping Christian Climbing Dayflower Spreading Dayflower Growing conditions: Part shade/Shade Tolerant of most soils Groundcover (can become invasive in good conditions) Suitable for rockeries and hanging pots Perennial in tropics and subtropics, annual in… Continue reading Plant Profile: Commelina diffusa – Climbing Dayflower
Plant Profile: Coleus graveolens
Bush Basil, Native Basil, Australia Also known as: Plectranthus graveolens Native Coleus Bush Basil Mountain Plectranthus Sticky Cockspur Five Spice Plant Growing conditions: Part sun/shade Most soils/prefers moist fertile soil/doesn’t do well in sandy soils without humidity Low growing shrub Propagation: Cuttings I have been trying to get a native Coleus for years so I… Continue reading Plant Profile: Coleus graveolens
Plant Profile: Mother of Herbs
Also known as: Plectranthus amboinicus Coleus amboinicus Mexican Mint Cuban Oregano Indian Borage Country Borage French Thyme Soup Mint Spanish Thyme Indian Mint Why so many names? This plant has been cultivated and used for so long that its origins are unclear. It’s believed to originate in Africa, but is now naturalized in many countries… Continue reading Plant Profile: Mother of Herbs
