Australian Country Collections 11.6

Spring is in the air and all over the country our gardens are bursting to life. I particularly love the blossoms on our fruit trees at this time of year. On every branch there are little explosions of colour as the blossoms make their presence known. Whenever I see fruit trees in flower I feel an overwhelming need to plant one in my backyard, but with only so much land I’ve decided to share my passion for fruiting trees with you instead and encourage you to plant a home orchard in your backyard. Our Growing Fruit Feature will give you all the do’s and don'ts. Our research on fruit growing takes us to the Apple Isle, Tasmania where we discover the divine Longford House and meet homemakers’ Charmaine and Russell Sweeting.

It’s also our annual lavender issue and we talk to Henry Head of the famed Norfolk Lavender farm in England and Heather Cavanaugh reveals the healing benefits of this much loved herb. We also visit plenty of lavender farms and you can discover all the scrumptious lavender products on the market.

If you find yourself fighting a continual battle between what you need in the kitchen, a lack of bench space and all that you have to store then our kitchen feature is for you. Be inspired to parr down, without losing your kitchens’ much-loved character.

Meet a homemaker with a flair for including family treasures and flea market finds into her decorating. Susan Eckhardt has a real knack for combining colours and themes throughout her home, so come take a look and be inspired.

We introduce you to the wares of WADE ceramics. If you thought their whimsical miniatures were all this company produced you are in for a treat as we examine Collecting WADE. We also take a step back in time as we explore Collecting Vintage Hats.

Plus we offer all the usual Hints and Tips, What’s it Worth? And plenty of other collecting and decorating snippets. This is going to be a huge issue so be sure to join us for Australian Country Collections issue 11.6.