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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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.
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.
Recipe | Spinach, Leek, Zucchini & Feta Bake
This is one of those lovely mix-and-match dishes where you can use up all sorts of vegetables, herbs and odds and ends of cheese that happen to be lurking in the fridge. Recipe by Belinda Jeffery.
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Recipe | Roasted red capsicum, smoked paprika & tomato soup
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
How to: Create a Thriving Edible Backyard — Kath Irvine
Kath Irvine is a renowned organic gardening and permaculture expert and author. Through her writing and consults, she helps people create productive, beautiful and, most of all, easy gardens. In this interview, Kath shares her gardening wisdom, including the importance of starting small, slowing down, taking notice and following your intuition.
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Planting in guilds: Permaculture guild combos
A guild is a team of plants that support, protect and nourish each other, working together for the benefit of all. A guild creates stability and best health because the variety of plants above brings a variety of roots and soil life below.
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Quick tips for flooded gardens
Though the state of the garden immediately after a devastating weather event may not be top on the priority list, at some point you may wonder what to do in a flood-affected garden. Here is a list of simple things you can do in the garden after flooding.
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Christall Lowe: Our life of kai
Christall Lowe (Ngāti Kauwhata, Tainui and Ngāti Maniapoto descent) is a Manawatū-based food stylist, photographer and recipe developer. In this interview Christall shares what was behind the creation of her book — Kai: Food Stories & Recipes From My Family Table, along with stories of her wider family’s plentiful edible garden, and the effect of nature has on her creative practice…
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9 Magnificent Gardens That Amazed Us This Year
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….
Recipe | Pretty Slaw with Pomegranate & Beetroot
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
Recipe | Green Soba Noodle Salad
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’s flower-filled life | Field of Roses
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 —
Recipe | End-of-Summer Chow Chow — by Christall Lowe
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
Recipe | Feijoa ice cream by Christall Lowe
During the height of feijoa season in autumn, feijoa ice cream is a delicious way to use up some of the fruit! Recipe by Christall Lowe, from Kai
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When Japanese, contemporary and ‘cottage garden’ influences collide — Haberfield, Sydney
The design starts with a “horticultural riot” out the front, countered with a restful side passageway. The internal courtyard is a space for reflection, accompanied by a more contemporary back garden. Designed by Fieldwork.
Making waste materials bloom | Metal METcALfe’s botanical sculptures
Hawke’s Bay based sisters, Amy and Katie, are the creative duo that design and fabricate botanical metal sculptures from waste material. Their story is unique, and straddles the world of product design, craft-lead production and high-end artwork.
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Recipe | Kachori: Pea Pastries
Kachori come in spheres or disc shapes depending on who is making them. This recipe is for the kachori to be stuffed with a pea filling. Recipe by Urvashi Roe, from Biting Biting: Snacking Gujarati-Style
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Recipe | Reveya: Peanut-stuffed baby aubergines
“I never liked aubergines at school. They were always dense, oily and tasteless, whereas at home my mother would stuff them with crushed peanuts, cumin and tomatoes to make these 'reveya' which I couldn’t eat fast enough.” Recipe & words by Urvashi Roe
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How to: Build a Raised Garden Bed
A raised planting bed is a gardener's secret weapon for success. Whether you are a beginner gardener, short on space or simply looking to formalise an area in your garden, building a raised bed is the perfect place to start.
— Written by Elly Keen
Through the seasons in Kate Williams’ Canterbury garden | The After-hours Stylist
Kate Williams, known as The After-hours Stylist, lives with her family on a lifestyle block in Canterbury, where she is kept busy with running floral workshops, and looking after her extensive 5 acre garden.
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Villa Garden with Modern Tropical Twist — New Plymouth
A contemporary sub tropical garden to compliment the former railway cottage’s new renovations. Designed by PARKER.
Recipe | Pumpkin, lentil, avocado & roasted lemon oil
This salad is such a winner, and is a perfect example of how everyday pantry staples can be transformed into something incredible. Recipe by Two Raw Sisters, from SALAD.
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