Plants and animals want to live in a nice suburb, and a nice suburb is one that meets all their needs and has the same qualities we are looking for in the real estate guide. It has a rich cultural diversity, anyone who is special lives here; the beautiful, the talented and the interesting are all here, an amazing mix of characters. There is plenty of happy chatter and banter amongst the residents giving a relaxed friendly feel to this suburb. This community has a mix of young and old, with a healthy mid range raising their families, all are contributing to keep this suburb vibrant in subtle and not so subtle ways. This suburb looks after its own water supply which it keeps clean with plenty of workers, including fish, frogs and platypus. Plants line the edge of all the streams and in-stream as well, ensuring an A grade filtering system for all the residents. There is no waste here, everything is biodegradable and recycled within the suburb. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is the motto. This suburb has clean air, full of scents that are more noticeable after the rain and with the change of the seasons. Breathe it in. Yes' this is a very good suburb indeed. Is it yours?
Walking past the Small-fruited Hakea the perfume really stops me in my tracks and makes me smile. I walk past this small shrub on my way to work and this strong scent, like a jasmine, from its creamy grevillea like flowers is always a deep breath of pleasure. These Hakea flowers with their sweet perfume not only attract me, but also bees chasing a rich source of nectar. As this is a prickly plant it also attracts small honeyeater birds as it not only provides food, but also shade and shelter from predators such as cats.
The Small-fruited Hakea, Hakea microcarpa, has blue-green needle like foliage and tolerates frost to -8 degrees C. It's very tough in most soils and conditions and able to tolerate wind, prolonged dry or wet spells, coastal or mountainous situations. It's pretty much bullet proof! This shrub grows to 1-1.5m and 0.5 - 1m wide and likes full sun or part shade. Flowering is over a long period from spring to summer but it's in full bloom in my garden now. This Hakea is a perfect addition to your garden. Omg this is good! My wee helper and I made this gin with random pickings. We picked a small handful of River Mint and a few sprigs of Alpine Baeckea which has a citrus bush flavour. We stripped the Alpine Baeckea leaves from the stems which was quick and easy as the leaves are tiny and they come off the stem easily. We added this to the chopped River Mint leaves. River Mint has a regular mint flavour but not as strong and overpowering. We mixed our River Mint and Alpine Baeckea with half a freshly squeezed lemon. We popped a little into our glass and served with tonic water. It was simply delicious. We didn't give our concoction time for the full impact of the flavourings to take effect as we drank it so greedily, but it had a lovely lemon mint flavour and the Alpine Baeckea gave it a herby tang in the background. Although the days are not as warm as they were, this gin would make the perfect summer drink as it's so refreshing. And of course you could add alcohol of your choice to spice it up. Alpine Baeckea and River Mint are available at www.tazwildplants.com |
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