Grass Roots

Lockdown over winter can be a long dull period, believe me, and we have our fingers crossed that contagion of coronavirus has been brought under control and that soon we can embrace the novelty of getting out and about. There have been increased opportunities for tackling projects and long planned jobs, but what’s top priority for everyone I know is personal contact with family and friends. The local magpie family have been a welcome distraction with their regular visits, whereas under lockdown restrictions we rarely see a fellow human. But it’s spring and the breeding season and suddenly the magpies too are in lockdown. We were aware nesting was imminent, our jute door mat become an object of frenetic attention and appeared to be disappearing before our eyes. Truly, there are…

Lots of people enjoy the flavour and texture of mushrooms in their meals and have tried to grow their own with mixed results. Mickey my partner and I were given a mushroom kit for Christmas back in 2016 and got to taste oyster mushrooms for the first time. We were hooked and threw ourselves into learning all we could about this delicious fungi. Now we grow them in shipping containers and sell them to restaurants and cafes in Brisbane and make ready-to-grow mushroom kits so people can experience growing their own. EVOLUTION Mickey and I met through mutual friends. We were in the same circles for several years and finally crossed paths. I was a graphic designer with my own graphics business. Mickey was selling hemp backpacks from a women’s collective in…

Aren’t we so lucky that dahlias have made a comeback, they seem to be the new garden trend, especially popular with the slow flower movement and flower farmers. When we first shifted to Fairy Wren Cottage 10 years ago I asked a local plants woman if she was hiding the dahlias at her garden nursery because I couldn’t find any, her reply was that she didn’t stock them because they weren’t popular! Gosh a lot has changed in those 10 years. Now there is a great range of dahlias in mail order and online catalogues, at garden nurseries and at the end of the growing season (late May and June) flower farmers dig up their dahlia tubers, divide them and sell their excess stock via their online shops or at their…

Here is a little project that combines recycling and the satisfaction of knowing there is a source of water for birds and bees during summer. You may want to site this little pond under shady greenery, so it’s out of direct sunlight, but be prepared for regular cleaning if leaves and the like fall in. For bees, you’ll need to have a rock or two in the pond with one side up out of the water, or drowning will occur. We started this project years ago, it’s been cheap to do as most of the parts were waste or given to us by friends to make a fishpond. The old truck tyre came from a tyre yard. HOW TO MAKE The first step was to cut one side out of the tyre. I…

Frugality does not mean depriving yourself of food, comfort or pleasure. It just means thriving on less, enjoying life with a lighter footprint. It brings on more abundance in the form of contentment, and blissful moments in a beautiful garden. Have you ever asked yourself the simple question: how much is enough? Once you have put aside money for rent or mortgage, basic food and utilities, health, clothing and transport, how much do you need to feel happy? We have been taught to focus on what we don’t have and how to get it, rather than on what we have and how to enjoy it. In the process of making it in life, we forgot that it is not the number of breaths we take that counts, but the moments that take our…

I grow flowers organically and by the seasons, and sell them as cut flowers at our local market. I’ve learnt a lot about flowers over the past few years and would love to share my tips and discoveries. A good diet is vital for all of us; flowers require a lot of nutrients, so prepare the bed before planting as you would for annuals. PLANT LIKE WITH LIKE Although you can make mixed flower borders for cutting, it is best to keep annuals with annuals, and perennials and bulbs together. Annuals in the perennial boarder can rob the other plants of nutrients, self seed and become a weed. Choose plants that like similar conditions to plant together. FERTILISE REGULARLY Fertilise flowers as you would vegetables or fruit trees: regular additions of compost, mulch and soil…