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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.


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

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

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.

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. The carefree, wild look belies a carefully crafted, low maintenance, smart garden.
Words by Kath Irvine, from The Edible Backyard
