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Animal Care

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In the Garden Studio

In our wildlife friendly garden

Interviews

Sweet Peas

Garden Planning

With the wood fire warming the house, the labrador asleep on the hearth and Ebb the Spoodle snuggled up next to me,  I look outside at the tall silver birch trees, their draping shapes further exposed with the leaves already fallen and I watch some little Silver Eyes skip between the branches. The fog is […]

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Quince Jam Drop Bikkies

The Quince Jam Drop Bikkie recipe to celebrate all things Quince and sharing my new free ebook. Quince Jam Drop Bikkies Makes 15. Ingredients: 180g butter 3/4 cup rapadura sugar 2 cups wholemeal spelt flour 1/2 teaspoon Aluminium free Baking Powder 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1 chia egg . In a small cup mix 1 […]

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A dream come true.

Look at this Orlando Plenty creation, made by Sappho & Ryan. Can you spy the Quinces grown here at Fairy Wren Cottage poached in unpasteurised freshly pressed apple juice? And it tasted as good as it looks! It is a dream come true for Michael, Lil and I to be at the Farm Gate Market […]

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A letter to a Gardening Mentor.

  You see some days are just down right memorable aren’t they?! Two of those days spaced a year apart were when our neighbour Danny generously helped me prune our fruit trees. He had quietly watched us plant our little Back Orchard with heritage peach, apple, cherry, pear, crab apple, apricot & nectarine trees and […]

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Sharing.

You see that basket isn’t just a basket full of apples, it means so much more than that. That basket represents a friendship based on trust, respect, valuing each other and valuing the homegrown produce that we share. You can’t put a price on that nor can it be taken for granted. The baskets of […]

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Bay Leaves.

It was a shock the first time I saw healthy, spray free Bay Leaves and compared them to the pale dried out leaves in those little packets at the supermarket that cost $$$.  After visiting a garden not far from here and realising the huge 4 x 3m tree in the front garden was a […]

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Pretty & Practical Linen serviettes.

Can you see that linen serviette/napkin underneath the flowers? I get so many questions about them. Unfortunately I haven’t made or embroidered any of them but they do have so many handy uses in our home as well as being used for a napkin or serviette. I first started buying linen or cotton serviettes from […]

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It’s the simple things….

When I was a  little girl there was a time when I would often forget to make my bed. I think it was my way of rebelling! But one day we were visiting my beautiful Great Aunty Jean who lived in the city and my mother mentioned my bed making rebellion! My darling Aunty who […]

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Benefits of knowing your flock

It is so exciting when chicks or new members of your flock finally arrive and even more so the very  first time you bring your first flock home or they hatch in the incubator or under Mama Hen. There is nothing like those early days of learning hands on even though there has been so […]

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