MICKEY’S BLOG
In the days before Instagram, Mickey kept a regular blog of snippets from Glenmore House.
You may enjoy looking back through them!
Squeaky peas….
Do your peas squeak? If you grow your own, you will know exactly what I mean! If you don't, they're probably not much worth eating....so make a plan to grow your own next year!
Souvenir perfection….
What joy, after a few days absence from the garden in daylight hours, to discover the Bourbon rose Souvenir de la Malmaison hitting its straps! I picked the very first flower of the season a couple of weeks ago, but these three display the rose at its various...
Off we go….
To the garden show! A basket of rosemary and scented pelargonium to scent our day!
Poppies galore….
They've been flowering for weeks now! I so look forward to their late winter / early spring blooms each year. The utter simplicity of their open, blotched faces as they nod in the breeze. Whether basking in the heat of the drystone wall beneath the flowering...
Striped canvas….
Next week, I'm heading to the inaugural Australian Garden Show at Centennial Park, 5-8 September. I'm joining forces with ici et la, the Surry Hills store so well known for its striped canvas deck chairs and rustic, antique French objets de charme. I thought that...
Sweet parsnips…
It's a sweet winter joy to tip a handful of just-dug parsnips into the kitchen sink. A couple of minutes taken to lightly scrub away the soil reveals bright, cream roots to toss in olive oil & slip into the oven for a roasted treat. My aim however, is to...
Delectable cakes….
Five girls, six cakes - what a day! We chopped, we stirred, we blitzed, we grated, we mixed, we whisked....and we washed up! Lovely bags of warm wrapped cakes went home for tasting treats over the weekend. What huge fun! Well done everyone - I'll look forward to...
Naughty nasturtiums….
There's been some frisky business going on at the bottom of the Kitchen Garden these past few months! My clear, yellow Nellie Melba nasturtiums with a deep read central blotch have crossed....perhaps with the Empress of India from down near the compost heap? (On...
Buried treasure…
While doing some preparatory digging on Saturday, I discovered buried treasure in the shape of a handful of potatoes that I must have missed earlier in the year - what a great treat - unexpected new potatoes for lunch!
Sweet jasmine…
The very first jasmine flowers of the season! I can't wait 'til there are long trails of them to bring inside for their heady, sweet scent, (though I think the vine scrambling over the pantry wall looks more attractive when in bud rather than full flower!). I...
First blossom….
The very first petals of the new season's blossom unfurled last Friday. The almond tree by the Hayshed is our gauge of change from winter to spring. We anticipate these first flowers each year with a sense of excitement as well as trepidation, as they often...
Sunflower whirls…
While on the topic of seeds....do you remember my blog post entitled 'fleeting companion' a few months ago? Well, my friend remained in tact and dried on the stem, until he collapsed in the gale force winds last week. Sadly, he lost a few of the seeds from his...
Sweet peas….
Well, actually no, not those sweet peas! (though old fashioned fragrant pink ones have been doing their thing for a month or so elsewhere in the garden). These are 'purple podded Dutch peas', and there's a good row of them in flower in the Kitchen Garden. As...
The REAL Market…
This weekend, the r.e.a.l store, in Woolloomooloo, is having a market at 91 Bourke Street, from 11am - 5pm both days. The REAL Foundation, incorporating Hands that Shape Humanity, will be participating in our open garden weekend in October, so I'm...
Late winter rose…
The very first Quatre Saisons of the new season. Despite its name, it would be a bit much to ask it to flower all the time, but it almost always begins before the end of winter. I love its open, almost squashed form and clear pink petals. Its bright rose perfume...
Seed potatoes….
My seed potatoes have arrived in the post! A lovely cardboard box full of brown paper bags, full of seed potatoes. What delight! Dutch Cream, King Edward, Kipfler, Nicola, Pink Eye, Spunta and Bintje....I'm only missing purple ones - note to self: need to source...
Incredible veg…
The delights of vegetable still life await at Charlotte Thodey's exhibition 'From the Artist's Table', at Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, 2 - 11 August. Following her successful exhibition at the Chateau de Villandry in France last year, local artist Charlotte...
Sunday tasks….
Late morning saw me thinning fennel seedlings (perhaps I was a little over-generous with this particular sowing!). But as the task was completed just before lunch, it seemed a waste to toss these fine seedlings into the compost, so I whipped up a Clementine &...