A happy sea of Echinacea, captured by Girl of My Garden…week one, Jan 2024.
Hello everyone,
And Happy New Year!
How I love the weather we’ve enjoyed here these last ‘quiet’ weeks…intermittent days of still and stifling heat with ‘calm before the storm’ afternoons, ballooning dark clouds, the shrill song of cicadas, the call of kookaburras…a heavy downpour and the evening chorus of frogs and raindrops combined…at least on those days that weren’t just heavily wet and grey! Although the wet weather did perhaps rob us of that imagined holiday time we might have had, I’m not complaining in the least as we’re green and lush and I’m beyond grateful. Certainly the weather did call a halt to any thoughts of a second Lavender Harvest Workshop, but I did spend one glorious hot and dry day on my own, first scything armfuls of lavender stems and then carrying out a glorious Lavender Water distillation which yielded plenty to share in the months ahead. Phew!
I just thought I’d pop in to say hello and I hope you’re all travelling well at this slightly odd time of the year…with one foot in and one foot out of the normal routine. Here, I’m working on excitements to bring you during the months ahead…(and taking the opportunity to nurture that once-dehydrated sourdough starter that Holly Davis left me specifically for the purpose at her fabulous two days of workshops here last year. I reckon it’s now or never to get to grips with it if I’m ever likely to incorporate sourdough into my weekly routine…yes, I stuffed it up during that last horrid opportunity!).
But back to the upcoming calendar of workshops and events: it looks at this stage, as if there may be a sublime emphasis on food for the first part of the year, which makes me very happy indeed! I’m in conversation with those with whom I’m collaborating and will have some tempting dates for you to pop into your calendar very soon!
There is one workshop though, that I’m keen to draw your early attention to. It’s only right that I should begin the year with the workshop that is closest to my heart – the one that instigated the multitude of workshops and events that would follow: It’s exactly 15 years since my career took a little detour, and out of pure passion and a desire to learn, implement and share the knowledge that would enable me and others to pursue a kitchen gardening way of life, I launched (with great excitement and not a little anxiety!) KITCHEN GARDENING DAYS at GLENMORE HOUSE. I chose the date for that very first workshop then, just as carefully as I do now, and invite you to join me for the very first event of this year: LATE SUMMER in THE KITCHEN GARDEN on SUNDAY 25 FEBRUARY.
Of all the workshops and events I host here…it’s the kitchen gardening days that matter most to me. They’re the ones most likely to make a significant impact on your life…your health and consequently all those in your realm. They are a key to a new way of life, explained in a very honest, friendly, down to earth, pests-and-troubles-and-all kind of way…I don’t skip the problems…even if most of the time, you do hear me praising the delight of it all! I realise though, that since I began the original Kitchen Gardening Days format here (with Linda Ross teaching those first years whilst I got to true grips with my growing and figured out how on earth to teach the days and prepare the food for everyone to enjoy too…it’s impossible to be in two places at once and that miraculous cook I hoped for back then, who too lived in unison with the garden season, never quite materialised!) that many other forms of garden to plate teaching have popped up across the country…from community and council scale, to farm size and many others in between…let alone the online and social media platforms which weren’t around at all back then! As a result of too much (where there had been none) on offer in the market place…sadly I run fewer of my kitchen gardening days now, but when I do, I choose to do so at the most relevant time of the season, so that you can learn the most, see the most, understand the most and benefit in real time.
Although I tried to dum down these days with an eye to participant cost in recent years…even suggesting it would be a ‘morning only’ affair and doing away with the food component…when came the day I couldn’t bring myself to not feed everyone…heaven knows we’re all starving by the time I’ve expounded all the information I can!! And the whole point is that we eat from the garden! To my delight, everyone was still here at 4pm anyway….because we just can’t get through all there is to explain and see and absorb in a shorter amount of time!
And so….after trying every whichway, I’m going to bring this year’s offer back in line with where we began. These days are precious. There will be morning tea on arrival and there will be a little lunch at the long tables. And I’m not going to try to do it all myself as I have been doing recently…Kim will be here on the day as back up in the kitchen because it’s more important I share every morsel of information with you that I can but I still want you to taste and immerse in the seasonal, organic produce the garden has to offer. The cost of a Kitchen Gardening Day will revert to that of 15 years ago, plus $15.00! And included, you have another 15 valuable years worth of dedicated, hands-on, kitchen garden growing (and eating!) experience to learn from.
I know some of you are planning a refresher to kickstart your gardening year (we all have distractions to pull us away from our dreams from time to time), and hopefully some of you may be pondering the idea of growing…and growing well… for the first time in your life. These days are suitable for one and all…across generations.
You’ll discover all the nitty gritty details here and how I will hope to see you for a day of insight, encouragement…and a bit of fun too!
With news of many exciting 2024 Glenmore Days to follow…
I send you very best wishes
Mickey
