In 1984 my darling mother Myra was suffering from the ovarian cancer that took her life. While I was visiting her in Tasmania I noticed a cheeky little frog on her bedside table. ‘He cheers me up’, she said. I could see why; he was adorable. Froggy
Read more →
AXMINSTERS OF THE EARTH OK, eyes down, gardeners and nature lovers! I know there are wonderful carpets of blossom in spring, but autumn is definitely the main period for appreciating Mother Nature’s work. It’s one of the main reasons I moved from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
Read more →
ORIGINS OF THE FARM Following the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, many farmers were destitute and unable to produce sufficient food for the enormous influx of refugees. In 1951, Hong Kong businessman Lord Lawrence Kadoorie and his brother Sir Horace Kadoorie, formed an
Read more →
Like most people, I have a garden full of plants given to me by friends and neighbours. They are all very special. Some years ago I went on an outing to the home of Laurel Phillips, a life-member of our local garden club at Blackheath, in the
Read more →
Because much of my garden is in at least semi-shade I grow lots of the shade-loving ground-cover ajuga. Its bronze foliage contrasts well with silver grey lambs ears or dusty miller. It will thrive in the most challenging of locations. After good spring rain recently the
Read more →
Like most Australians the ubiquitous Weber bar-b-que was part of my life for many years. And yes, it even produced our Christmas turkey on a couple of occasions. But somehow we lost our passion for bar-b-ques
Read more →
WARNING…..INCLUDES CONFRONTING SPIDER PICTURE! It wasn’t until my friend Dianne told me about her battle to get rid of ivy in her new garden that I realized my own ivy problem had become super-serious. Stupidly, I had deliberately spread the variegated variety around. I’d considered it more
Read more →My garden in the chilly Blue Mountains has acid soil, which is why I grow azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas…..and daphnes. At last count I had nine…..sorry, ten. What could be better than a shrub that flowers in mid winter and has one of the most heavenly
Read more →
‘Hello Possums!’ has long been Dame Edna Everidge’s affectionate greeting to her audience. They are definitely very cute….in their place! Once my husband and I awoke before dawn to the tinkling of glassware and thought a burglar was making off with our crystal goblets. We
Read more →
Below is a photo taken in 1933, during the Great Depression. It is a Christmas lily farm at Pennant Hills, in New South Wales. The farm produced 100,000 cut flowers for the Australian florist trade that year. It seems that Christmas lilies are
Read more →