As well as having a love of cooking, I’ve always enjoyed gardening, particularly when whatever it is I’m gardening I’ll eventually be able to cook!

I also love discovering any native bushfoods that grow in my area and knowing where I can go to forage for interesting bits and pieces.

Lillypilly

Last week during a climb up Mount Cooroora I discovered that there are hundreds of native violets in bloom along the edges of the walking track. These cute little purple flowers make a great decoration for cakes and desserts. Good to keep in mind as a source for when my plants at home run out.

Native Violet

I’ve got Lemon Myrtle and Finger Lime trees in my garden, but I recently decided it was time to visit Gympie Land Care and see what other native bush foods I could try growing that I could eventually incorporate into the food I cook.

Lemon Myrtle

As well as being a great resource for information about native plant species, and its dedicated volunteers being actively involved in weed control and revegetation in the region, Gympie Landcare is open to the public from Wednesday to Friday 8.30 – 3.30, and Saturdays from 9.00 – 12.00, providing access to a huge variety of native tube stock at a bargain price of $2.00/plant, as well as more established plants for $5.00.

Native Elderberry

What I really appreciated more than the price though, was the knowledge that came with the plants I was buying. The people who work here have brought these plants up from seed as though they were their own children, and seem to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Latin names of each species and a detailed understanding of the origin, history and best growing conditions of each plant. It’s this sort of expertise that is invaluable if you’re planning on establishing a native garden, and information you’d be hard pressed to get from just any nursery.

Native Bee Hive Display at Gympie Landcare

So armed with some good advice and a box of mixed  plants I headed home and found spots in the garden to start my edible native forest.

Davidson Plum

The plants were so strong and healthy that about 2 months later they’ve roughly quadrupled in size and are powering along. All being relatively local species means they are well adapted to our climate and don’t require constant watering to survive.

Sandpaper Fig

It’ll be a few years before I get to reap the rewards of my plantings, but in the meantime, I can sit back and watch these plants grow, and hope that in 20 years time, someone gets to appreciate these intense and beautiful flavours that are a part of our region.

Macadamia

Native Ginger

For those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a few months, an update on my giant pumpkin growing adventure:

My pumpkin unfortunately didn’t get big enough in time to enter into the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival Giant Pumpkin Competition, however it continued to grow quite happily until just recently  on my dad’s back porch and reached around 60kg. She has been flown to Cairns to be part of a halloween display in a hotel up there. So proud of her!

I’m going to plant earlier this year so hopefully I’ll be ready for Goomeri in 2016. I’ll keep you posted.

Gympie and District Landcare

5 Groves Rd, Araluen

Ph 54838866

email: admin@gympielandcare.org.au

Cuttlefish, Lillypillies, Macadamias and Finger Lime

Serves 4 as an entree

Ingredients:

500gm Cuttlefish

2 lemon myrtle leaves, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2tbs candied lillypillies(see note)

4tbs chopped roasted macadamias

Handful of dandelion or rocket leaves

juice of 1 lime

2tbs olive oil

1 golden shallot, finely diced

2 finger limes, scraped and deseeded

salt and pepper

Method:

Clean and score the cuttlefish and slice into thin strips.

Mix with the lemon myrtle and garlic and sauté quickly in a hot pan in a little oil. Transfer to a bowl to cool down.

Whisk together the lime juice, finger lime, shallot and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Mix together the cuttlefish, lillypillies, macadamias, dandelion leaves and the finger lime dressing and divide between four bowls.

Note: To candy the lillypillies, simmer the fruit covered in castor sugar in a saucepan for 10 – 15 minutes. Some lillypillies have a small seed inside them which can be squeezed out once they’ve cooled.