The Perfect Pear

One of my favourite pears to eat is the Beurre Bosc . It has a lovely tan brown skin, with a firm yet juicy flesh. It teams well with soft french style cheese. Sometimes I will slice it up, smoother it with honey and bake it, then it can be enjoyed with yogurt as a dessert or stirred through risotto.

But the best way I like to enjoy it is this recipe:

Pear and Parmesan salad.

What you need:

1-2 Beurre Bosc pears

Baby Rocket leaves-You decide how much!

Freshly shaved Parmesan-use lots if you love it.

White balsamic vinegar*- to your taste.

Make it:

Place the baby rocket leaves in a bowl. Slice up pears and toss through rocket.  Drizzle or spray with White balsamic vinegar and massage it into the pear and rocket really well.

Sprinkle some shaved Parmesan on top.

--It is a perfect side to a main meal.

* Select an Italian made White Balsamic Vinigar from a gaurmet shop if you can.

Winter in the Nursery

Bare-root trees line the entrance to our nursery. Plus there are 100's more inside.

Bare-root Mop Tops the ever popular tree that is covered in a mass of tiny green leaves in

 Spring and summer.

Our edible Garden Display. Grapes,  blueberries,Strawberries, bay trees and lots more

Things green up with some rain water!

 Our Potato seed display. It's so easy to grow your own.

What to do with excess lemons

 

Tip: Place a lemon cut in half  in the top draw of your dishwaher just befor you set it to wash. Your dishes with come out sparkling clean and the entire machine will smell better.

Lemon curd tartletts with candied lemon rind from Good Taste Magazine. Recipe can be found at Taste.com.au

Another idea is

Berry Good for You

Well you all may have noticed that every time you see blueberries in the supermarkets they are very expensive, this is because blueberries have extremely delicate skin and can only be hand-picked from the bush, machines would damage them thus making them a labour intensive fruit to grow. Why not grow your own. Blueberries require an acidic soil so if your soil is too alkaline simply grow your blueberries in a container and use an acidic potting mix.

We have a great range of blueberries and acidic potting mix in store now.

image via bathwater

Lots a Lemons!

The lemons that grow in Positano are gigantic and sweet smelling. They are apparently very labour intensive to grow but have lots of healthy properties including vitamin c.

Image via Serenity Nursery

Sweet Tuscan Fruit

On our Tuscan travels we discovered a little fruit and veg stall on the side of the road. We ate some nectarines and I would have to say they were the tastiest and sweetest I have ever tried. The shop owner cut us each a large piece of watermelon which was super juicy. It was lovely to escape our Aussie winter for a summer get away.. all the seasonal fruit and veg were such a delight and has inspired us to continue to grow our own at home.

images via Serenity Nursery

Fruit and Vegtables the Italian way.

The seasonal fruit and veg. throughout Italy taste great. They are most likely ripened on the vine or tree making them naturally sweeter and more flavoursome.

Useful large leafed basil plants grow in a Tuscan village. Colourful geraniums add colour to the potted display.

A small sunny patch makes a great little spot to grow tomatoes.

Images via Serenity Nursery

She's Apples

Apples not just for eating. Bucket loads of crisp, juicy apples to tantalise your taste buds.

It's so easy to grow your own apples.

Come in to see our yummy range of apple trees including;

Golden Delicious

Granny Smith

Jonathan

Lady William

Pink Lady

Red Delicious

Red Fuji

&

Royal Gala

Growing Healthy Citrus Trees

Top Tips for Growing Citrus Trees

1. Prepare- Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Dig in some Plants Plus Groganic soil improver. Dig gypsum into clay soils and create a raised bed.

Dwarf citrus are ideal planted into pots.

2. Feed- Citrus are hungry plants and require feeding twice a year, in early spring and late summer. Well fed citrus aren't often troubled by pest and diseases.

3. Harvest- Taste test citrus to check and see if they are ready to eat. thinning excess fruit when they re small will encourage larger fruit to develop.

Pests that may occur:

Citrus Leaf Miner

Citrus Leaf Miner is the larvae of a silvery white moth. The moths lay their eggs of the leaf surface. Once hatched the larvae tunnel into the leaf leaving a silver trail.

Symptoms: Curling and distortion of mainly new growth, plus silvery trails on the leaf surface.

How to prevent: Use Yates PestOil as a low toxic protection against citrus leaf miner. Once a citrus has leaf miner it is difficult to control however using Pest Oil and removing infected branches will help.

A few of our favourite things

Three Things we Love in the Garden this week:

1. Espaliered fruit trees and white painted brick walls as a back drop.

2. Weathered Terracotta Pots, perfect for planting your bulbs in.

3. Potting Sheds decked out with all of your favourite things to help beatify your garden.

First Image Via: Beautiful simple Things

Second Image Via: House of Bliss

Third Image Via: Solid Frog