PAEONIA (Peony / Peony rose) — A spring flowering staple. The timeless allure of peonies makes them a brilliant choice for your garden. If you follow the right advice, growing peonies should be an easy and rewarding undertaking.
Recipe developer and gardener Bri DiMattina’s book, Nostrana, sets out to rekindle the joy of the home garden and kitchen. Nostrana means homegrown, ours; growing food with the intent of sharing it with others.
In this interview Bri shares her keys to starting and enjoying the edible garden journey —
If you are seduced into planting lots of zucchini, unsurprisingly you will have lots of zucchini to use up — this is for you.
Arancini are Sicilian and southern Italian, and a similar recipe in Rome is called suppli. This version, made purely from grated zucchini, is a uniquely New Zealand garden version.
Recipe by Bri DiMattina, from Nostrana
This corn fritter recipe has been one of Bri DiMattina’s family’s favourites for years. It is easy to sub in any other vegetables. Once fried, the ‘crust’ tastes a lot like popcorn, and then it’s just full of goodness.
Recipe by Bri DiMattina, from Nostrana
Bri DiMattina’s great-grandmother’s tomato sauce recipe, from Napoli. It’s one of those sauces that gets better as it ages. A bottle of this is pure gold.
Recipe by Bri DiMattina, from Nostrana
Helen Lehndorf is a life-long forager and Manawatū-based writer. In Helen’s latest book, A Forager’s Life, she seamlessly weaves memoir with foraging principles, practices and recipes. It’s an intimate story and a promise that much can be made of the world around us.
Here you’ll find a snippet from Helen’s helpful appendices: A beginner’s guide to foraging.
Words from A Forager’s Life by Helen Lehndorf
There is something magical about a summer garden that boasts colour, texture, wild-life and long-lasting florals. One of the best (and easiest ways) to achieve this is with perennials — and particularly perennials that flower all summer long.
Belinda Jeffery is a food writer, cookbook author and one of Australia’s most loved home cooks.
This delicious soup has the most wonderful rich colour and intense flavour, and you can feel it doing you good as you eat it.
Recipe from In Belinda’s Kitchen by Belinda Jeffery
Over the past year, there have been 9 stand out gardens on the journal that our readers just get enough of.
From a wild cottage garden on a Danish Island, to a tropical villa garden in New Plymouth. A 5 acre garden in Canterbury, to a petite retreat garden in South Melbourne — these were the journal’s best-loved gardens of 2022….
This slaw makes a regular appearance on our catering menu and is a nice easy slaw to whip up for a large gathering or a festive feast.
Recipe from RIPE: Thought for Food
A bountiful vegan salad loaded with greens, this salad can also be served up warm as a meal.
Recipe from RIPE: Thought for Food
Zoë Field of Field of Roses runs a flower farm and floral design studio with her mother, Sue Field, just outside of Gisborne, New Zealand. Inspired by her flower-filled life, Zoë has released her debut book that celebrates the joy and beauty of flowers throughout the seasons.
Read an excerpt from the book: Lost & Found and learn about Zoë’s life as a flower farmer and florist —
This recipe is a great way to use up all the veges in an exploding garden, or veges that are cheap to buy at the end of summer. Anything goes, really, as long as you get the base right.
Recipe by Christall Lowe, from Kai
Feijoa Ice Cream Recipe by Christall Lowe, from Kai
NOW AVAILABLE
Sage is a new annual print publication that celebrates the art of gardening. Vol. 1 is a 190+ page collection of thoughtful storytelling, photography and garden inspiration, exploring the intersection of people, plants and place.
Buy Now
© 2025 Sage Journal Ltd. All Rights Reserved
MORE
© 2025 Sage Journal Ltd. All Rights Reserved
© 2025 Sage Journal Ltd. All Rights Reserved
