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 My two weeks meandering Paris have drawn to a close and I just thought I’d upload some images. There are a few of the usual suspects … Eiffel Tower, Grand Arche, Arche de Triumph mixed in with some public sculpture and, you guessed it, gardens, parks and shops. . . . → Read More: Salut, Paris!  Once you’ve decided where your vegetables are going to grow, it’s time to prepare the garden bed. If you are interplanting (putting herbs and vegetables among other plants in an existing bed), you’ll need to make sure that the garden bed has been well dug over to remove weeds. . . . → Read More: Some tips on building raised veggie garden beds  So it’s starting to get a bit hot now and plants get thirsty. Before you go crazy with summer planting, work out whether you have enough water to keep these plants looking their best. Also, if you are planning a holiday this summer, ask yourself if what you want to plant can wait? It may be difficult to establish and grow if you are not around to tend it and water it. . . . → Read More: What do I plant in summer?  A few weeks ago I went with my friend Kellie to the famous Lambley Nursery in Victoria. This nursery has become a bit of a pin-up of the gardening world in Australia because of the painterly way the perennials are arranged in the garden. The miracle is that these plants are given only four deep soaks of water a year. . . . → Read More: A visit to Lambley Nursery  Where you live will affect what you grow. Excuse me if this post is a little serious, but this is some research I had to do for our book We Love Food, and I thought it was a shame not to include it for all the first-timers out there. . . . → Read More: A few more practical considerations before you start gardening Grape vines are the friends of every busy parent. It’s best to plant grape vines in late autumn and early winter when the vines are dormant. Plant the hardy roots straight into the ground after making a small hole marginally deeper than the roots. No need to prepare the soil with organic matter or fertiliser: treat them mean and keep them keen! . . . → Read More: Vines: Treat them mean and keep them keen!  Before we get started on what soil is what, just remember that you also have to keep an eye on the little kids if they are digging with you in the garden. Chances are, much of that soil will go into their mouth. Don’t ask me how, it just does! . . . → Read More: Spilling the dirt on soil types. What does it all mean?  Many gardening books diss the ‘no-dig’ method and refer to this as lazy gardening. Who wants to spend hours every week weeding? Throw the mulch on and go have some fun with the kids. When you have finished your raised garden beds it is possible to easily establish a ‘No-Dig’ garden. . . . → Read More: Introducing the ‘No-Dig’ vegetable patch  As I write this my 5-year-old daughter is squeezing 20 lemons to make fresh lemonade. She’s having a ball. It’s so easy for kids to make lemonade – you have to watch them making the syrup on the stove but the rest they can do themselves. . . . → Read More: Fresh lemonade  At the risk of sounding like a Martha Stewart wannbe (I do love Martha!), I must confess there is a strange satisfaction in transforming scraps of furniture, leftover materials and scrappy outbuildings with a lick of paint. . . . → Read More: How a lick of paint can transform a garden |
We Love Food is our book that covers similar territory. Find out more about the book at the Hardie Grant website. |
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Copyright © 2013 Kirsty Manning-Wilcox & Peta Heine - All Rights Reserved |
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