Your
WIN
A GAZEBO OR BALI HUT VALUED AT $4,500.00 Hurry Ends Soon!
Fantastic
BACKYARD Issue No. 3
TOP 20 Backyard Studios To Give You Extra Space or Income
FREE DVD
Chef Dominique
Rizzo
invites you to lunch in her Brisbane backyard
Make a Statement with Decorative
SCREENS
Interested in an outdoor entertaining area? Claim your free DVD, see page 7.
WINS Chelsea
Australia
See the amazing garden that won Best in Show
WIN a Gazebo or Bali Hut Valued At $4,500.00 - Hurry Ends Soon!
46 Your Fantastic Backyard
PURE
Bliss PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEIGH MORRIS STORY PENELOPE BARKER
Throughout her television appearances and cookbooks, chef Dominique Rizzo’s mantra has been that healthy pure food is easy to prepare, delicious, tasty, inexpensive and “anyone can do it”. Here, Penelope Barker speaks with Dominique about her Brisbane backyard, Sicilian heritage and new Pure Food Wine and Cooking Tours. Were you born in Sicily or Australia?
I was born in Australia in Brisbane at the Royal Women’s Hospital on the first of January, 1972 -- a lovely surprise for my mother and a wonderful start to the new year.
What was your backyard/garden like as a child? What was special about it for you?
I loved my backyard. My grandmother lived with us for many years in a large granny flat under our house in Rosalie in Brisbane. My grandmother, Mardi, was a fabulous gardener and we had a lush backyard with a path through the trees and a hiding place where I used to play and hang out. I remember my mother had a chest full of beautiful vintage clothes. I used to play dress ups and then wander around the yard and to this day I still love vintage clothes.
What lead you to become a chef?
I had always loved cooking and from a very early age I was making breakfast for my parents and baking cakes and biscuits. Our family
trips to Italy inspired my love for Italian food, fresh produce, big family meals and bold flavours. During my school days, my favourite subjects were art, drama, language and home economics. I took a few trips to Italy when I left school and came back to complete a Diploma in Business Hospitality. I discovered that I loved the food component. Since I was about 10 years old I was working part time in restaurants, clearing tables, then working in kitchens. Food and hospitality was all that I knew, so at 21 I asked myself that question --. what am I going to do with my life and my own answer was that I know and love food. I got an apprenticeship and the rest is my life.
What influences your food and what inspires your passion for pure and healthy cooking?
Flavours, textures, colour, multiculturalism, the foods that I love to eat, ingredients and ideas I find on my travels, the desire to help people feel confident with creating healthy tasty food, my mother, my father, other chefs, amazing local produce are all the aspects that influence my food. My passion for pure, healthy cooking is inspired by my desire to be healthy myself and to inspire others by creating a mantra that healthy pure food is easy to prepare, can be delicious, tasty, inexpensive and anyone can do it.
What was your garden like when you moved to your current home?
A backyard of weeds. It was just one huge patch of grass and weeds. I later found out that I actually had a yard of edible weeds.... go figure. Although it wasn’t until I had mowed it all down and transformed it that I found out.
What has inspired the design and planting of your backyard?
I wanted a yard that was a feature as I walked into the house, that was very user friendly, easy to maintain and had an aspect of edibility so I could use most of it in my cooking. Typical woman -- I wanted everything: the Bali feel, the cottage garden, the wild garden. It still needs a little work but gardens are always a work in progress.
What have you included that is really important to you? I love figs, pomegranates, citrus, grapes, herbs and leaves for salads so I have included a lot of these. Also I love to lie in the garden and just look around so my lounge and hammock come in handy.
I notice lots of interesting creative ideas.
Recycled timber that was wired together to create the borders of the gardens, a mismatch of bits and pieces to make a chicken coop, things that I had purchased to go into the house that ended in the garden, a couple of old stands and recycled timber I have as a table for plants -- there are lots of bits and pieces, I am a fan of buying plants at garage sales and also picking pieces of furniture off the street.
Your Fantastic Backyard 47
“I wanted a yard that was a feature as I walked into the house, that was very user friendly, easy to maintain and had an aspect of edibility so I could use most of it in my cooking.�
48 Your Fantastic Backyard
PURE Bliss
Your Fantastic Backyard 49
Baked Ricotta with Almonds, Figs & Orange Syrup I loved eating this as I sat in my garden looking at my fig tree and knowing that one day I too would have these luscious, exquisite fruits hanging heavy on my tree. This dish is a wonderful way to enjoy ricotta as either a dessert, for breakfast or as my father likes to have it with his morning cup of tea or coffee and some toasted bread. Figs when they are in season are a must to try, eat and cook with and my favourite way to open them is with my fingers, revealing that soft pink array of flowers inside.
SERVES 6-8 INGREDIENTS 1 x 250g small wheel of ricotta 4 figs – 2 sliced thickly and 2 torn or cut
METHOD Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Brush the outside of the ricotta wheel with the egg white and then roll in the almond flakes to cover the sides. Sit the wheel onto some baking paper on a tray and then top with the
into quarters
sliced figs and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 20 minutes.
1 egg white
In the meantime, place the orange rind, marmalade, sugar and water into a
¼ cup of almond flakes
small pot and bring to a simmer, cooking the syrup until slightly thickened.
1 dsp brown sugar
Toast the bread and serve alongside the baked ricotta with syrup and more
Zest of 1 orange 3 tblsp orange marmalade 2 tblsp sugar ¼ cup water Toasted bread for serving
54 Your Fantastic Backyard
fresh figs on top.
Your Fantastic Backyard 55
58 Your Fantastic Backyard
SPACE STATIONS With the introduction of relaxed government regulations on building second dwellings in our backyards, and a growing choice of self-contained studios, cabins and even small houses that fit the bill, the time is ripe to add extra living space to your home affordably and easily.
Your Fantastic Backyard 59
Urban Green Studios Urban Green Studios offer an exciting range of contemporary, modular garden studios for living, working or playing. With a background in architectural home building, all Urban Green Studios are designed and built with quality inclusions and workmanship, are modern and functional designs and built utilising sustainable materials that will stand the test of time. The studios can be installed in days not months, and in many cases, can be approved in only 10 days by your local council under what is called a Complying Development application. For more information, call 1300 297 396 or visit www.urbangreenstudios.com.au.
Byron Backyard Studios Byron Backyard Studios offer charming timber cottages from American firm Ross Chapin Architects (www.rosschapin.com). “Characterised by intelligent use of space and quality heavy timberwork, these backyard cabins are a joy to look at and wonderful to live or work in,” says Director of Byron Backyard Studios, Steven Brown. “It’s about creating something special. These designs provide not only a practical solution for the customer but create a holistic sanctuary from the busy world outside. Matching off-the-shelf architectural solutions with inspired heavy timberwork ensures the customer gets a truly outstanding product and good value.” Based in Northern NSW, Byron Backyard Studios offer a refined line of cottages, from studio to one and two bedroom designs, as kitset frames with plans and structural engineering. Servicing New South Wales and Southern Queensland, and delivering to other states on multiple cabin orders. Visit www. byronbackyard.com.au or call (02) 6680 9014.
66 Your Fantastic Backyard
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROSS CHAPIN ARCHITECTS
SPACE STATIONS
Your Fantastic Backyard 67
74 Your Fantastic Backyard
SCREEN GEMS DECORATIVE OUTDOOR SCREENS ADD DESIGNER DASH AND PRIVACY TO ANY OUTSIDE LIVING SPACE. MAKE A STATEMENT IN TIMBER OR LASER CUT STEEL, RUSTED OR POWERCOATED, WITH THESE BOLD SCREEN BEAUTIES. Your Fantastic Backyard 75
AND THE
Winner
This page; Contortionists in lizard costume entertained visitors to the Trailfinders Australian Garden presented by Fleming’s Nurseries at the 2013 RHS Chelsea Garden Show in London.
88 Your Fantastic Backyard
IS...
For some reason it all seems just right, just as it should be… that in 2013, Fleming’s Nurseries final year bringing a garden to Chelsea, the 100th year of the famous Chelsea Flower Show, the stunning Australian garden designed by Phillip Johnson was awarded the Royal Horticulture Society’s top honour of Best in Show. Here, Wes Fleming looks back on this amazing achievement.
Your Fantastic Backyard 89
AND THE
Winner IS...
F
resh from London and the Chelsea Flower Show, at Fleming’s Nurseries we are all still riding high on the overwhelming success of our 2013 Australian garden entry with designer Phillip Johnson. To be awarded a Gold – coupled with the very top honour of Best in Show – well that just blew us all away. I’ve been asked a lot of questions regarding Chelsea these past few weeks but the one I most want to answer here is – “What does winning Best in Show mean to me?” To win the Best in Show award, judged unanimously for the first time in history and during the Centenary year of the show, with Phillip Johnson and this year’s team, is beyond my wildest dreams. This award was something I truly never thought was achieveable by an Australian designer, mostly due to the fact our designs, our concept of show gardens and the diversity with which we approach our designs, is so unique to the tradition of Chelsea, I felt sure it couldn’t be done. How wrong I was. Phillip Johnson has, with grinding hard work and gutsy determination, over two years, managed to do the impossible and I applaud him for it and am quite sure that this young designer can pull off just about anything he sets his mind to – just as he deserves. This was our final endeavour to Chelsea and what a way to say goodbye to a wonderful, life-changing project over the past nine years. Thanks are due to the huge number of sponsors and behind the scenes supporters of this year’s entry (and the many entries before). It may be difficult from the outside to imagine the amount of work that goes into coordinating this project and just how much support is required to get it off the ground… but sincerely this project would not happen at all if it were not for one long term Fleming’s person and that is Leanne Gillies. Leanne has worked heart and soul for almost 10 years to bring each Chelsea project to life and it is her dedication and devotion that sees it happen each year. The decision by the judges was, for the first time in history, 100% unanimous… no judge felt the decision should be otherwise, there was no discussion, no ‘but maybe’s’ – a straightforward
Opposite page: A beautiful waterfall tumbles into the billabong; this page: The membrane lining the billagong was provided by Australian company Beutyliner.
“To win the Best in Show award, judged unanimously for the first time in history and during the Centenary year of the show, with Phillip Johnson and this year’s team, is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Your Fantastic Backyard 91
AND THE
Winner IS...
“The decision by the judges was, for the first time in history, unanimous.”
Opposite page: The garden, constructed in just 17 days, looks entirely natural rather than manmade. This page, above left: Designer Phillip Johnson meets HRH Queen Elizabeth; above right: Wes Fleming of Fleming’s Nurseries chats with Princess Beatrice. Below: An elated Wes Fleming, Phillip Johnson and team of volunteers after receiving the award for Best in Show.
Your Fantastic Backyard 93
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Paving Solutions
In The NEXT Issue of Your Fantastic Backyard • Our next celebrity backyard revealed! Join entertainer Monica Trapaga on her inner-city rooftop eyrie. • Creative and practical paving solutions for your backyard. • Inspiring ideas for creating vertical gardens and green walls. • Get cooking with the latest outdoor ovens, grills and barbecues and fabulous barbecue recipes.
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Vertical Gardens & Walls
114 Your Fantastic Backyard
Ovens, Gr il & BBQs ls