Wellington’s famous winds have been thrashing our land this year like no other I remember in the three years since we moved into the house. Our trees have really suffered and we’ve lost at least three which have been blown out of the ground or snapped in... The summer solstice passed this week in a flurry of rain and gale winds. The kitchen garden was battered by the elements and by some small miracle seemed to have survived. We’ve been busy harvesting broad beans and freezing them for later. The peas, beans,... I swear that I saw the pine trees in the forestry block next foor growing inches before my very eyes this week. It’s ideal growing conditions, warm and wet – quite tropical really in a Wellingtonian sort of way.  I was excited to know what was... When it comes to antisceptics Germolene was always the coolest cream to have. Heaps better than Savlon. You see it was the pink colour I loved so much as a kid even if it did have a nausiating smell. Imagine my delight to come to New Zealand and find a fruit... Broad beans aren’t something that you really see for sale in the supermarket. Or at least I don’t really notice them. But they are highly recommended in food growing books as something easy to grow and prolific in their crops. But my first attempts at... 