Day 8. Tuesday 8th July 2025. Mexican Hawthorn. These mustard yellow coloured fruit almost glow on a cold Winter’s day. As I walk up to the Back Orchard the squish of the fruit underfoot reminds me to watch where I am walking instead of looking out to the sky and what is beyond the garden […]

Day 7. Monday. 7th July 2025. Feeding the hens and Honeybee some left over bread roll from lunchtime. Miss Polish (aka. Zinnia the Polish hen) was hatched in an incubator and raised by Lil. When I sit on the garden bench she more than likely comes and sits underneath the bench and pokes her head […]

Day 6. Sunday. 6th July 2025. Liliana made Elderberry Cordial. The cottage smelt divine. Picked from our own Food Hedges that we planted many years ago. It was a brilliant year for elderberries. A Moment in the Day Series. This will be my third year. Midwinter and I’m craving the everyday beauty that isn’t in […]

Day 5. Saturday. 5th July 2025. A beautiful afternoon. Liliana and I rugged up in our Winter cardigans and cowls and went out into the garden and gathered flowers. We stopped and talked about Spring garden plans, at different times the hens and ducks joined us. We noted what was already frost damaged, what was […]

  CWA Tomato Relish. “This recipe has been handed down through the family. My mother made it when I was young, I make it and now my children do too.” Phyllis Hingston, – Sassafras / Wesley Vale branch, Tasmania. I can’t recommend this recipe enough. I grew up only eating homemade tomato sauce, it was a treat […]

Prunus × subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ Winter Flowering Cherry ‘Autumnalis’ On the RHS website they describe the tree as an elegant, small, spreading deciduous tree with ovate leaves turning yellow in autumn. Semi-double white flowers 1.5cm in width. Other common names Rosebud Cherry ‘Autumnalis’ Winter Cherry. Winter flowering Cherry. Prunus Autumnalis.   Why am I growing it. […]

Day 4. Walking down to let the Buff Orpington hens through the gate. They are ready for their late afternoon bowl of grain. Also, that’s my lovely pile of sticks leaning against the Hot House Garden gate. I’ll be using them for growing edible peas in the Hot House come Spring time. A Moment in […]

*My monthly newsletter is called Fairy Wren Cottage Postcards. It is usually sent to the inbox of everyone who subscribes, but until I find a new service provider for my newsletter (my old provider wanted to start charging me $40 per month), I’ll post it here. If you are new here, welcome – this is […]

Pansies. How to Grow, Reimagine, and Create Beauty with Pansies and Violas. by Brenna Estrada. “This book is a heartfelt plea. Written on behalf of the pansy, and pursued in hope and optimism, it has a single purpose: to elevate the pansy to a reimagined role of elegance and secure its place in at least […]