The Midlands is home to many Eucalypts that are hundreds of years old. They have witnessed a life we can only imagine, predating our written history books.

As a society we are obsessed about what its is to be beautiful. Midland trees don't have perfect bodies, lush canopies or stunning, brightly coloured flowers. These trees are not there en masse like a city of trees, but just odd trees, dotted in the landscape, like true country folk. These trees wouldn't get a Vogue modelling  role, voted Miss or Mr Universe or Tree of the Year. They are not airbrushed to perfection, not beautiful in terms of qualities, such as shape, colour or form.

But the Midlands Eucalypts do have character. They are reflections of their landscape, and the seasons they have witnessed. Their twisted gnarled trunks reflect a life of hardship and struggle, in a climate that's not always kind, long dry summers, harsh cold winters, and strong winds, taking their toll. Each bump and burl, reflecting a battle fought, survivors on the battlefield of life. 

Each tree is an individual, experiencing  life differently to every other family member, no two trees are exactly the same. Just like our families, same parents, same look, but each child is different, reflecting their own true character.

Some Eucalypts have suffered more than others, scarred by life, losing limbs, leaving a hollow in their trunk. These hollows are filled with birds, such as parrots, looking for a good home to raise a family. And thus, the tree becomes a community, providing a community service for the thousands of creatures, that live and make homes in their bark and leaves, and for those birds that feed on them. And each tree has a particular combination of qualities, that makes them different and unique. And for me, each tree oozes character, and that makes them very beautiful.

The picture above is Eucalyptus pauciflora, or Cabbage or Snow Gum, still surviving despite a major mishap, and now a beautiful seat to rest on my walks. The picture below is of its bark, also beautiful. 
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Wattle seed from Silver Wattle Acacia dealbata ​has the most fabulous flavour. This flavour depends on your palette, you may think it tastes similar to coffee, chocolate, hazelnut or something in between. The seed is ready to harvest when the pods are a rusty-purple colour and just starting to split open. This happens at Christmas time, which is really inconvenient in the holiday season, but it's well worth the effort of harvesting.  You can pick bunches quite readily, or place a tarp below the tree and let if fall by itself while you skip off to the beach. The ripe seed is incredibly hard, and needs to be put through a grinder until it's fine, with the appearance  of instant coffee.

Silver Wattle is known as a pioneer plant as it comes up first in disturbed ground, which has been damaged by heavy machinery, fire, over-grazing or floods along rivers and streams. As it's such a prolific plant, some see it as a threat and needs to be controlled. However Silver Wattle doesn't like to be controlled, and will put up a major resistance, trying harder to carry out its important job. Due to its rapid growth from seed. Silver Wattle's job is to hold the soil after disturbance and fix nitrogen in the soil. This allows other slower species to take advantage of the soil conditions and grow under the protection of the wattle trees. Although at first, we only see the lush growth of Silver Wattle, if we look closer we will find many different species sheltering underneath.

Silver Wattle is a common and prolific tree in Tasmania but is much maligned for being short lived. Silver Wattle generally for being short lived. Silver Wattles generally live for about 25 years and then die naturally, replaced by longer lived trees such as Eucalypts, but in that time, they have provided many functions and their benefits are enormous.

The Silver Wattle flowers are prolific, covering the whole tree in a blaze of yellow pom-pom flowers. These flowers are rich in pollen, high in protein, fats and other nutrients. So, if you are a bird lover you will see many parrots including the red and green rosellas gorging on pollen. The acacia flowers also attract many insects which in turn attracts insectivorous birds such as thornbills and silvereyes. bees also love the rich pollen, as do hoverflies, butterflies, moths and beetles. When Silver Wattles are flowering it's a pollinators picnic. And of course, we benefit from these pollinator's for our vegetables, fruit trees and other crops.

Silver Wattle is well known for its beautiful bluish green foliage and the flowers are often used in floral arrangements. It is also prized for its timber, similar to blackwood, but lighter and with more pink colouring. It is easy to work, with both machine and hand tools. It may be turned, bored, sawed and planed with excellent results. Pre-drilling is recommended to prevent splitting. Silver Wattle is also an excellent bending timber. It glues satisfactorily with most adhesives, accepts most finishes readily, and may be polished to a smooth, lustrous surface. Silver Wattle is not recommended for external applications including decorative, architectural and structural use.

So, from seed to timber, this is one tree worth including in your plantings. Silver Wattle is truly a wonderful wattle. 

Warrigal Greens has to be the best value vegetable plant you can have in your vegetable garden. Warrigal is exceptionally easy to grow and will cover a metre (if allowed) in no time at all, due to its prostrate habit. One plant is all you need to feed your family, and the best part is, the more you pick the leaves the more it grows. The tips and youngest leaves are the best to harvest.

In the wild Warrigal has its home, along Tasmania's beaches and estuaries, sitting higher than the high tide, on a perch at storm tide. But in cultivation, with good well-drained soils and water, it's a different plant, lush, prolific and tasty. As Warrigal is a naturally growing coastal plant it is susceptible to frosts below - 3C and best treated as an annual plant.

The leaves are similar in taste to the introduced spinach or silver beet. Any recipe using these ingredients, can be substituted with Warrigal Greens. Any dish calling for Asian greens, can be substituted with Warrigal Greens. Any time you make pesto, the main ingredient can be substituted  with Warrigal Greens. But for me, I love Warrigal Greens sauteed gently in a little butter and garlic, till it just changes colour to a deep green, so it keeps it crunch. Serve with crumbled feta or goat's cheese. Totally yum.

Captain Cook was the first colonial to taste Warrigal Greens, as he searched for fresh vegetables for his crew as a protection against scurvy. Of all the plants tasted by Joseph Banks and Captain Cook on their voyage to Australian shores, Warrigal Greens made the greatest impression. This vegetable, also known as Botany Bay Greens, was so impressive that  seed  was gathered, and sent to England and America, appearing in seed catalogues in the 1820's. Although Warrigal Greens was highly prized for its crunchy salty flavour, the early settlers didn't know Warrigal leaves were rich in antioxidants, calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin A, K and B6.

Tasty and healthy, Warrigal Greens really is a wonder vegetable.