the bedroom

The bedroom... is it quite possibly the most important room in the house? To me, a relaxing, calm space to sleep soundly is vital to getting through the day - so yes, I think the bedroom IS the most important room.

Our bedroom is small, like the rest of our home, but its also the best bedroom we've ever had. Sure we've had bigger ones, but this one is quiet, cosy and comfortable.

It's airy and well ventilated - great for this time of year. While its hotting up here and the humidity is rising, this room cools down in the afternoon so we know we'll always get a good night's sleep.

And with shift workers in the house, this space can be made dark and cool during the day too, with a quiet ceiling fan overhead if needed.

The back wall desperately needs to be painted and it will soon be lightened with a coat or two of white paint, which will make a big impact to the room. I love the central louvred window in the wall, it frames the bamboo outside so well, the vertical culms contrasting with the horizontal louvres.

Matching bedside tables and matching lamps finish it off.

We have a wardrobe and two other drawer / storage spaces in the room as well as the chest you can see at the foot of the bed.

Our bed is also extremely comfortable - investing in a good quality mattress and a woolen underlay have certainly paid off.

Mixing and matching the covers, I'm going with cool blues at the moment, but in winter its rich, warm reds and burgundies.

I've just found some beautiful french blue, stone and pewter sheets too, so they'll be making their way into the rotation soon.

I'm not brave enough to go all white in the bedroom, perhaps one day!

Planning for Christmas

It isn't long till Christmas now, the ham has been ordered from our local butcher who specialises in organic and biodynamic products and the menu for the day is taking shape.

I love the whole process of planning days like this... it starts for me with searching through my cookbooks. Deciding how many dishes and the theme of the meal - whether it will be seafood (we live so close to the beach and have access to wonderful seafood straight off the trawlers), hot or cold side dishes, how many courses... the planning is such fun.

Once lists are written and rewritten for the food shopping my thoughts turn to the table and the house in general. What do I have that I can use or perhaps we need a little something new to add to our collection of napkins, placemats, bowls, serving spoons, glasses...

Deciding on the wine to go with each meal is also exciting - cool whites or deep complex reds, to finish with a tropical fruit platter or perhaps a cheese platter from the fabulous Colin James at Maleny with walnuts and pears from the local organic store?

Going local and organic is important to me as is eating to suit (and celebrate) the seasons.

Here in Australia, Christmas is hot so its either seafood and cold dishes or if you simply must have a roast, cooking it outside in a webber to avoid heating up the house.

I'm enjoying planning Christmas this year, aside from the actual day there are drinks to organise with the neighbours and work functions to attend... things are getting busy.

And fingers crossed for a little French connection & inspiration under the tree this year too!

Cheers,
Sonya

the Potager Garden

Pear Ridge Restaurant Tasmania

I teach organic gardening and permaculture and I'm fascinated by French-style potager gardens.

Given the current economic situation, more and more people are turning to their own kitchen gardens just outside the back door to grow fresh produce for the kitchen table, so there is a resurgence of interest in home food gardens.

The idea of a carefully designed garden - there as much for its beauty and form as its function, really appeals to me.

Its a challenge to have anything neat in the garden here in the subtropics where things get out of hand quite quickly over summer, but in the cooler climates a tidy little kitchen garden would be perfect.

The name Potager is derived from the French potage meaning soup, they are often quite geometrical in design (great if you're house is double storey and you can look over the garden) but within those lines you'll often find curves and keyholes. The soup / garden link would probably come from what I call my 'all of garden' soup - being able to fill your harvest basket with armsfull of leafy greens and herbs that go straight into a tasty soup.

A potager garden is designed to supply the home with fresh salad greens, leafy vegetable greens (kale, spinach etc), seasonal vegetables and herbs.

Also incorporated are flowers - for their beauty, to be picked and arranged in the home and for their pest management qualities (carefully selected flowering plants can be used to deter pests, to attract beneficial insects and to bio-fumigate the soil as part of organic disease management strategies).

Edible flowers of course can also be harvested and added to salads for extra colour.

Potager gardens often feature fruit trees. A dwarf lemon tree (perhaps a 'lots of lemons' variety?) in a beautiful big pot in the centre will add a sense of style and formality to the garden too. They also often feature espaliered fruit trees, sometimes dwarf varieties, arbors and trellising.