Granted we do have to wait a couple of years in between planting a fruit tree and picking fruit but that fruit tree is more than just a fruit producing tree. It provides: Shelter for smaller birds who visit our garden. Shade for us and our animals when we or they sit underneath it. A […]

The contract to buy Fairy Wren Cottage was signed in Spring but I had to wait until Winter to purchase bare rooted fruit trees. *Check with your local nursery when they expect their  bare fruit tree order to arrive so you can be one of the first to see it and have a good selection […]

The garden at Fairy Wren Cottage when we shifted in was unusual to say the least. The bird bath had bird netting over it so the birds couldn’t access it, the previous owner thought the birds splashed too much water. There were some small rectangle shaped garden beds made from a concrete border, laid with […]

  Do you watch BBC Gardener’s World? There was a segment in an episode late 2017 about scientific studies proving that growing plants close to buildings helps insulate a building, there is the micro climate they create plus so many other benefits. I think we may have all realised that to some extent but a […]

Illness, injury, life changing circumstances, ageing. It can be difficult to still do things after something in your life changes can’t it ?! For me at times since my accident it has been heartbreaking and especially in those early days I became very depressed trying to hold on to being able to do everything like […]

  If the marketing for Christmas wasn’t bad enough with companies telling us we need to buy something expensive  to prove our love to someone now it is New Years resolution time! Short courses, long courses, diets, online courses, exercise must haves, diary planners, ‘how to’ books, de cluttering books, books that will change your […]

There is a lot of talk about foraging isn’t there?!  It can feel like the new black! And foraging is free but it can come with a whole lot of complications. I keep away from anything that: 1. I can’t easily identify. If I have doubts I leave it. 2. Is in a park, pathway, paddock […]

Do you remember the children’s shows where they feature animals and part of the segment is a fact sheet about the animal? We make one of those fact sheets for every animal before they come to live at Fairy Wren Cottage. With so much parental guidance it has been a good way for our daughter […]

Homemade Gingerbread, do you leave one tray in the oven a little longer for better dunking in a cup of tea??? If you can find organic ginger powder all the better, the ginger taste is stronger, this gingerbread is for the people in your life who love ginger. Ingredients: 125grams butter 125grams rapadura sugar 4 […]