I am totally biased but I genuinely believe that gardens and gardening hold the solution to many of the problems we face in our own lives and in the world around us. As a gardening commentator, I am always thinking about how I can get this message across to people, especially those that wouldn’t consider […]
Gardens Connect Us – Royal Adelaide Show 2024 Read More »
Each year I get the opportunity to create a feature garden at the Royal Adelaide Show on behalf of the Horticulture Committee of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society. The theme of this garden is always a topic that I feel passionately about at the time, and I try to use the garden to physically
COOL Royal Adelaide Show Garden 2023 Read More »
A big focus at Sophie’s Patch over the past month has been preparing for my feature garden Grow Up at the 2022 Royal Adelaide Show which opens in just five weeks on Saturday 5th September. This is my twelfth (or 13th because it was built for the cancelled 2021 show and has been changed and
Royal Adelaide Show 2022 – Feature Garden – ‘Grow Up’ Read More »
The design phase is nearly over and we are about to start work on the sculptures and elements of what is going to be a wonderful and informative bee lovers’ garden. Here is a sneak preview of the artist’s impression.
Buzz the bee lovers’ garden – feature garden at the 2018 Royal Adelaide Show Read More »
Post on Instagram or Facebook Post your favourite pic of Balance, by Sophie’s Patch on Facebook or Instagram and go into the draw to for one of two $150 Rossi Boots vouchers to be redeemed at Rossi Boots Factory Outlet, or a Tumbleweed Compost Bin or Worm Farm. Boots will be drawn on Father’s day
Royal Adelaide Show 2019 ‘Balance’ Competition Read More »
© Sophie Thomson | 8 Jan 2020 In 2016 and 2017 I was asked by the Department of Water and Natural Resources to provide several workshops for people whose gardens had been burned in the Pinery fires in South Australia. These talks, work I had done with the Sampson Flat fire recovery, and my more
Bushfire Garden Recovery Read More »
While I love seeing the spring flowers appear around #SophiesPatch, I also delight in the #springeggs with plentiful supplies of chook, duck and goose eggs at the moment. #Gooseeggs have a limited season in spring and so we relish using them in the kitchen where they are fabulous for frittata, but amazing in #spongecake, #custard
Possibly the best chocolate cake ever, this is a great way to use up excess zucchinis when there is a glut, which despite my best efforts to only plant what we need tends to be every year! I love chocolate zucchini cake and so do the kids and the chocolate colours the cake so they
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Read More »
I love this recipe because it is one I can make throughout the year, as I grow so many varieties of pumpkin and can store and keep them for many months. ½ cup butter (125 grams) softened ¾ cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup mashed pumpkin 1 ¾ cups self-raising flour ¾ cup sultanas or
When you grow a lot of tomatoes, there is an inevitable glut of green tomatoes at the end of the season. We do all the normal tricks like picking them when they even show a smidge of colour and letting them ripen in large flat bowls in the kitchen. We also pull the whole plants out of