Simple Joys
30 September, 2025
A daily joy of ours at the moment, is helping ourselves to a few fresh peas whenever we walk past my greenhouse. Fond memories from my childhood come back to me of 'pea season’ on the farm. My sister and I would sit at the kitchen table with a pile of freshly picked pea pods in front of us, happily chatting whilst removing the fresh peas from their pods.
I have to admit quite a few peas were eaten in the process, but we still always had a bowl full of peas, ready for Mum to work her magic in the kitchen. It was a simple pleasure, but one that brought much joy.
A number of years ago, when visiting the farm, Mum caught our youngest on camera in the veggie patch, happily munching on fresh peas straight from their pods.
I think more ended up in his tummy than on our dinner plates that night.
I haven’t had as much success growing peas in my wild style garden, as they’re often outcompeted by other edibles, with only one or two vines producing pods. This year I did things a little differently. I decided to grow them in my green house on string (like my cucumbers) with wonderful results. Growing them in pots in my greenhouse allowed them to have a bit more room to shine and by growing them vertically on string they were free of any fungal diseases.
“Love the simple joys of life that put a smile upon your face, a light in your eyes and happiness in your heart.”
Cool Season Harvests,
A morning’s harvest of some of our cool season edibles, mini cabbage, carrots, beetroot, silverbeet, kale, mustard, daikon radish, peas, broccoli and edible flowers. What are you harvesting in your garden at the moment?
The Diggers’ Club Mini Cabbage growing amongst wild rocket, woolly pod vetch, statice, lobelia and coriander.
Re-think Your Garden Waste Workshop,
If you’d like to learn how to support the life in your soil to grow a resilient garden and return carbon to the earth to help the environment, my Rethink Your Garden Waste workshop is being held on Saturday 18th October, from 10am to 12pm. I’ll be demonstrating permaculture techniques such as Chop n’ Drop, Sheet Composting and Dead Hedges. You’ll also be able to see firsthand how a closed loop system can work efficiently in a small backyard. The photo above is of a mini ‘dead hedge’ I created in our garden that doubles as a raised garden bed border, whilst also providing habitat for frogs, spiders, native bees and other little creatures. Click here for more workshop details, if this is something that resonates with you.
A New Use for a Lid,
I love how op shops and secondhand stores give so many items a second chance, diverting them from landfill. My recent find is an old ceramic casserole dish lid from Busselton Lion’s Shed. It’s made the perfect lid for one of my smaller in-ground worm farms, made from a converted plant pot. It was just the right size and colour, adding a little bit of visual interest to our garden…and makes for great conversation too!
Masters of Disguise,
After the wet winter, we’ve an abundance of frogs in our garden, including lots of young ones which is so encouraging to see.
The Motorbike Frog (Litoria moorei) has the amazing ability to blend into its environment, protecting it from potential predators. The photo above left is of a young Motorbike Frog, camouflaged amongst the leaves of our Pepino plant. He’s so well camouflaged, his markings have all but disappeared.
Wild Blooms,
Bringing a little more of the wild into our garden with some pretty everlasting daisies.
Rose Banjine Pimelea rosea (pictured above) and Podolepis lessonii (pictured below)
Our local bushland is alive with colour at the moment as all the dormant wildflowers make their presence known with their beautiful blooms. The boys were setting a fast pace on a recent hike, but I still managed to take a few photos here and there. 😅
Til next time, best wishes,
Alisa🌼🍃
References:
https://rivers.dwer.wa.gov.au/species/frogs/
Wildflowers, A Snapshot of the Diverse Flora of Meelup Regional Park - City of Busselton & Meelup Regional Park Brochure
Find that Flower by Jane Scott