MEDLARMAGHEDDON

It's been a while since I've done a food-related post but this year for the first time, I had the dubious pleasure of dealing with what was a) a fruit I knew practically nothing about and b) the inevitable immense harvest.

If the title wasn't obvious, I'm talking about the ancient, obscure, unusual and astoundingly delicious medlar fruit.

A GARDEN IN THE VALLEY

It's coming up to a year since I moved to my half-acre block in Tasmania's glorious Huon Valley and I haven't done much writing since...mostly because my average day off involves wandering out the back door a little after a leisurely breakfast and being distracted by a series of tasks that seems to take me until late afternoon.

I've enjoyed taking my time with developing the site, and where to put structures, and beds, and paths and plants. I've sat on a lot of decisions for a while before realising they were a bad idea and I've been putting into practice my old habit of just looking at a space until inspiration hits. Some spaces have needed more stare-hours than others...

DOUCEUR

Canadian Goldrich apricot in nearly full flower

Bracing myself for the usual sharp drop in temperature as I stepped out the back door this morning, it was a welcome change to be greeted by a calm and relatively warm morning. All signs are pointing to an early Spring and as several of my fruit trees are already donning their floral finery, I can only cross my fingers that the weather doesn't take a turn for the worse over the next few weeks.

A GARDEN AND A LIBRARY

Sun maps and seeds

Cicero, one of those thinky people in the seemingly endless legion of thinky people that were floating around Rome in ancient times, once said something akin to 'if you have a garden and a library you have all you need' (though I might hasten to add dogs, wine and chocolate to that short list).

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH - APRIL 2016

April has been a beguiling mix of warm, clear (and frustratingly rain-free) days with the occasional sudden dip in temperatures to remind us that winter is just around the corner, and the occasional spike to remind us that summer still wants to play.

IN THE GARDEN:

Last 3 strawberries of the season...

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH - MARCH 16

Time to get back on track with the earth-loving, slow living posts, it seems like I've been talking about nothing but travel and vague plans to move on for ages! I'll try out regular monthly summaries to keep on track with where I'm at, and as an encouragement to keep progressing.

GO-TO MEDICINE

I planted a small gotu kola runner in a pot back in September of last year when I was doing a series of gardening workshops. Although one of the two I planted suddenly died, the remaining plant is bounding along nicely. They do very well in the tropics and, as well as having many medicinal benefits, they're also a pretty plant for garden borders. However, they do best in swampy areas so it's important to ensure they're always very well watered. Popular in Chinese medicine, I'm not sure how well known it is in Western herbal lore as neither of the two chunky herbal guides on my bookshelf make any mention of it.

Referred to as the 'fountain of life', gotu kola (Centella asiatica) is purported to cure everything from depression to shingles. Our garden instructors assured us that a few leaves taken every day would treat rheumatism and arthritis. As nothing was mentioned in my herbal books, I checked online to see which of these claims has some evidence behind them.

GROWING SPACES

Why is it that as soon as you hit October, the rest of the year comes rushing at you like a train full of hard slogging optimists grasping for rays of light? So, I was completely planning to do a wrap up of Buy Nothing New Month (I bought nothing new), review my new/used camera (it's awesome), take and post dozens of images (a series of annoying incidents left me without an especially usable camera for the month) and feature some local op-shops (ask the Monster Who Ate October about that).

RE-IN-CANE-ATION

I have a knack for spotting good *trash* (and here, as everywhere, I'm stunned at what people are willing to throw away) and after seeing this one sitting around on the street for a few days I decided to take it home and turn it into a herb planter. I'm starting a modest tropical style vegie patch this year, and as I'm still a green thumb in training, the most sensible option is planting in containers that can be moved around the garden til I find the optimum spot.