Recipe | Spring goodness bowl
Use this salad recipe as a base to make it your own with whatever spring veg you have on hand from the garden or your local market. This time Alby Hailes has opted for broccolini and Brussels sprouts.
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Here, you’ll find stories that explore and celebrate the beauty of places and people found within green spaces. Plus, loads of practical gardening advice and how-tos.
Recipe | Pistachio & fennel dukkah
Bringing the crunch, flavour and fun to any meal, this nutty green dukkah by Alby Hailes is perfect for sprinkling over everything – on top of salads, meats, pasta, eggs, hummus, or avo on toast.
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Recipe | Spring goodness dressing
This vibrant and feel-fantastic dressing by Alby Hailes is packed with plant-based goodness, with seasonal avocado, spinach and bright herbs blitzed with punchy lemon, garlic, capers & mustard for a creamy, zingy dream.
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Propagating plants: How to propagate perennials by division
Dividing perennials is an easy and cost-effective method of propagation. It’s also a key strategy for maintaining the health and vitality of your perennials.
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11 Annuals for Spring: Colourful Blooming Flowers for Spring
As we leave the frost of winter behind, and breathe in the fresh, pollinated air of spring, adding some spring-flowering annuals will refresh your garden for this lively season ahead.
Growing Potatoes: How to Plant, Grow & Harvest Potatoes
We’ve put together a potato growing guide with essential steps and know-how to successfully plant, grow and harvest your very own potatoes in your home garden. Let's dig in!
How Chelsea Thorpe blends landscape, creativity & comfort | Black House Studio
Then came the newly built accommodation studio. Set against the backdrop of Gisborne’s landscapes, Black House Studio goes beyond the conventional notion of accommodation. ...
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Recipe | Lime, apple & poppy seed cake with caramelised coconut topping
A lime, apple and poppy seed cake that is baked then returned to the oven after adding the coconut topping, with the liquid soaking into the cake to make it incredibly moist.
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Recipe | Ultimate vegan burgers
Both vegans and meat lovers can rejoice – here is the answer to our burger prayers! Includes recipe for vegan burger buns and coriander onions.
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Recipe | Kūmara and tofu dumplings
Simple to make and packed with goodness. These dumplings are great for stocking the freezer with, ready to whip out at short notice when mates show up for dinner. Recipe from Good Vibes by Alby Hailes.
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How to Grow & Care for Peonies
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 | Lemon Curd by Mint Cakery
A classic and mouthwatering lemon curd recipe by Michelle Morfett of Mint Cakery.
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Recipe | Lemon syrup & blueberry loaf
This loaf recipe from Mint Cakery by Michelle Morfett is loaded with the perfect blend of icings and garnishes. Each flavour packed mouthful will leave you wanting more and more.
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Recipe | Brown butter & caramalised white chocolate tray bake cake
Once you have tried browning butter, you will never be able to go back! This Mint Cakery recipe by Michelle Morfett is one that may take some time and patience to perfect - but it will be sure to impress the masses.
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Recipe | Mediterranean vegetable strudel
A Mediterranean vegetable strudel by chef Wendy Morgan. She also shares a flaky pastry recipe, along with pizza sauce and basil pesto recipes.Recipe from Who Made All the Pies: The ultimate collection of pastry treats for every Kiwi household.
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Recipe | Cauliflower tart
Chef Wendy Morgan shares her Cauliflower Tart recipe, along with a recipe for shortcrust pastry.
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Autumn in a subtropical, suburban garden | Insights from a Secret Gardener in Hawke’s Bay
An interview with Secret Gardener, Sue of Texture Garden — a subtropical, suburban garden in Taradale, Hawke's Bay.
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A productive urban garden called Ngā Kaupeka | Autumn insights from a Secret Gardener in Auckland’s North Shore
An interview with Secret Gardener, Phoebe of Ngā Kaupeka — a small-scale, productive garden in Forrest Hill, North Shore, Auckland.
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Golden light & generations of growth | Insights from a Secret Gardener in Hāwea
An autumn interview with Secret Gardener, Ali of Crosshill Garden — a century old garden in Hāwea, Otago.
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Recipe | Upside-down apple and polenta cake by BearLion
The ease of an upside-down cake is always a delight. If you don’t have apples, any other fruit is welcome.
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Recipe | Garlic potatoes with smashed peas, pecorino, cumin, dill + chilli by BearLion
At the BearLion Deli there was a notebook in which any of the staff could jot down a favourite salad of the week. Here’s one that made the cut.
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Autumn colour, feijoas & formal roses in Rangiora | Autumn insights from Secret Gardeners in Canterbury
An interview with Secret Gardeners, Raewyn and Dave of Willoughbridge — an established garden complete with an orchard, large specimen trees and bonsai collection in Rangiora, Canterbury.
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Flavours From My Italian Kitchen Garden: Bri DiMattina
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 —
Recipe | Zucchini Arancini
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
Recipe | Polenta & Corn Fritters
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
Autumn reflections from a historic homestead garden | Insights from a Secret Gardener in Martinborough
An interview with Secret Gardener, Phillipa of Waihora — a thriving garden for a historic homestead in Martinborough, Wairarapa.
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Recipe | Tomato Sauce — by Bri DiMattina
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
A Beginner’s Guide to Foraging — A Forager’s Life
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
18 Flowering perennials that bloom all summer long
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.
