The West Brunswick garden of children’s book Illustrator Craig Smith, and artist / publisher Erica Wagner is a lush suburban oasis.  

Abundant with native plantings and fresh veggies, the backyard also houses two art studios, used by both Erica and Craig in their respective creative fields. The pair have been here 15 years!

Our gardens columnist, Georgina Reid of The Planthunter gives us the full story.

It’s no secret we are huge fans of local plant purveyors Charlie Lawler and Wona Bae of Loose Leaf. Charlie and Wona have been our go-to resource for all things green ever since they set up their wonderful store and studio in Collingwood in 2014, offering urban Melburnians an incredible range of indoor plant life, as well as an endless calendar of workshops and events inspired by all things botanical.

Loose Leaf is the name of Wona and Charlie’s brand new book, out now through all good booksellers!

As one of Australia’s most renowned garden designers, Edna Walling was a trailblazer. She built a career designing, building and maintaining gardens, at a time where women were not encouraged to forge careers, let alone outdoorsy ones.

One of Edna Walling’s greatest feats was designing Bickleigh Vale; a unique 10-hectare housing development she created in the 1920s. Today the Vardy family are custodians of Walling’s old garden and home, continuing the legacy of this grand garden, and breathing new life into it.

Our gardens columnist, Georgina Reid of The Planthunter, introduces us to this very special Melbourne garden.

Barry Byrne is a man of vision. When he and his partner, Miguel Alvarez, moved to ‘Bebeah’, a five-hectare garden estate at Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains of NSW, he says there was nothing except a few large trees. That was 30 years ago, and in the decades that have since passed, together this pair have re-established the property. The garden was originally built in 1880 by Edward Cox, and these days is once again open for the public to enjoy.

Our gardens columnist Georgina Reid recently spent a morning in the garden with Barry and Miguel.

Michael Bates has been in the garden design and landscaping business for over 30 years. In the 1990s he started Bates Landscape, which has become one of Sydney’s leading landscape companies. His mission is simply ‘to get more people outside and into the garden.’

Michael and his wife purchased their 100-year-old sandstone home in North Sydney five years ago. Since then, they’ve introduced a variety of new plants to the space,  and creating various functional spaces including an outdoor dining area for 10, a teenagers retreats, and a cosy fire pit. This garden really is the hub of the family home.

Our gardens columnist Georgina Reid recently spent a morning in the garden with the Michael.

Judy and Andreas Sederof love to garden. The couple owns Sunpower Design, a sustainable home building company, and their passion for sustainable design principles extends to their garden. While their sixty-square-metre garden is relatively small, it grows big things. For instance, 150 eggplants in one season!

Our gardens columnist Georgina Reid recently caught up with the couple to chat about their bountiful garden in East Brunswick.

Artist Criss Canning and her husband David Glenn own Lambley Nursery, an amazing plant nursery in central Victoria, renowned for their incredible array of dry climate plants. The couple have been living on their 40 acre property for 25 years, part of which they have transformed into a thriving garden.

Our gardens columnist Georgina Reid recently caught up with the couple to chat about their incredible property, and Criss’s upcoming exhibition at Mossgreen in Melbourne.

The lush rooftop garden of Owen Harris in Melbourne’s Fitzroy is the ultimate inner city oasis. At 44m², it’s small but abundant, with every inch carefully considered.

Today we farewell nutritionist and author Lola Berry as our final Tasty Tuesday columnist for 2015! For her last recipe she has shared with us her ‘Carob Halva Heaven’ smoothie, from her new book Lola Berry’s Little Book of Smoothies & Juices. 

This recipe is a healthy take on the classic choc/banana combo, and combines tahini, carob and frozen banana. Lola says this exact breakfast smoothie got her through all of her uni degree!

Thanks so much for reading Tasty Tuesday this year! We look forward to bringing you more delicious recipes in 2016!