One Christmas when I was a child my father brought home a gum bough from the bush as an alternative to the traditional pine tree. We all loved it, especially the scent of eucalyptus throughout the house. My mother was delighted to have a break from falling
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I’ve always loved lavender. When I was a child in Tasmania we used to buy quaint cardboard dolls with muslin aprons full of the dried English variety. My mother didn’t grow it as far as I remember, but the island state is home to the remarkable Bridestowe
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CHRISTMAS IS NIGH As Christmas approaches I love looking back at seasonal celebrations in my Blue Mountains village of Blackheath. The following is from The Lithgow Mercury in 1909; There was very little stir here during Christmas, and everything passed off quietly. On Boxing Night a
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Can any bird or animal camoflague itself as successfully as the Australian Tawny Frogmouth? They are truly astonishing. Here in the Blue Mountains of NSW they are quite common. Mind you, the only way I can find them in my Blackheath garden is to look for the
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UPDATE – This story about a Katoomba poet created enormous interest. Most people were highly amused about poor Mr Meyer’s rejection letter, although was some sympathy. Of course if Meyers had seen the following cartoon he may have been spared the wrath of Angus & Robertson.
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During World War One, seventy seven men from the small Blue Mountains community of Blackheath, NSW volunteered to serve. Their names are engraved on the local war memorial. Six were killed in action; H. CULLEN, R. MURRAY, J. SKEEN, D. SPRAGUE, J. STEENSON, & R. THOMPSON.
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I SAY YES! I must admit that Australia’s pied currawongs do not have a great reputation. They are opportunists, preying on unwary small birds and robbing the nests of others. I’ve never forgiven a local gang of them for harassing our nesting tawny frogmouth and stealing the
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The spectacular waratah (Telopea) is the state emblem of New South Wales, and so much a part of the beautiful Blue Mountains, where I live. The plants flower both in our gardens and in the local bush. They are part of our identity. In 1912, an article
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DISASTER! At three o’clock one afternoon this week my husband Rob called me outside. He looked very upset, and was holding a crimson rosella in an old towel. It had flown into one of the windows. We live in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, and
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How wonderful a gum leaf is. More on gum leaf playing further down, but meanwhile, look how beautiful the leaves can be; We Australians have an almost spiritual connection to gum leaves. Expats can be reduced to tears by a whiff of their aroma. Campers in the
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