I woke today with absolutely no obligations to anyone. Extraordinary and rare. A perfect day weather-wise. Cloudless blue sky, temperature mid-twenties; light, warm breeze, magpies carolling, flowering sage and Rouzette geraniums offering cooling purple backdrop against silver leaves, and my smoke bush and Forest Pansy flaunting their springtime stained glass hues. The smoke bush has shapely glorious rust and verdigris leaves that miraculously become the colour of beaten copper when the morning spring sunshine lights the leaves. And alongside, in its first season, are the rich ruby leaves of my Forest Pansy, even more spectacular than I had hoped for. I am finding that these illuminated spring colours are at least as enchanting as autumn colours…

What a month! Holiday planning. A cruise that was interrupted by Covid, a few days in France, and then the launch of a new book, Fresh, my 18^th if counting new material not re-packaging…

I am pleased and proud to announce the publication of my 19^th or is it 20^thbook,

‘FRESH…Family recipes & stories inspired by Stephanie’s Kitchen Gardens’.

I founded the kitchen garden movement in Australian schools over twenty years ago now and it has become an important and well-known force for change. FRESH is intended to encourage families to cook together. It brings together recipes which have delighted young students in schools across the country, together with extra recipes that I developed as I re-cooked and re-tasted some favourites

This beautiful picture was taken by my neighbours upstairs from their balcony. How stunning. The next evening the boys told me that there was an owl resting on the pole of my sun umbrella. I didn’t dare open the door but peeped from behind the curtain and just saw a faint shape before it flew away…

 Autumn is such a pleasure. I am loving the cool mornings and seeing how the trees glisten as the first sunshine touches the leaves. For an hour after I wake the mist still hangs over the river. How fortunate I am to have this view. Birds call loudly. Here and there in my own small garden there is wonderful colour emerging. Little skinks scuttle over the paving stones. Sadly my resident blue tongue lizard has gone to live somewhere else. It is the best time of the year to enjoy my coffee in the garden. I have perfect shade, I can enjoy watching the bees and note that it will soon be time to cut back the lemon-scented verbena, the crepe myrtles and the very leggy salvia. I watched a kookaburra this morning be chased from its comfortable branch by two very noisy magpies…

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