Tiny House Garden Project: Chicken Cottage Makeover
In my latest vlog over at ‘The Rambling Rose’, I shared how I gave my chicken coop a cottage garden makeover and figured out what herbs and flowers are best suited to my chookos. I even got to work with some power tools – yes, faeries use power tools! I share a few insights into building a tiny home, living off grid, and starting a cottage garden. And so, I thought it might be nice to share a little snippet here on my blog too…
When I found this little block of land back in 2019, my heart was filled with romantic dreams of creating an off-grid tiny home, with an overflowing veggie garden, an outdoor tub, meandering animals, and flowers everywhere. I thought I’d be self-sufficient, plastic free and living like a reclusive, forest witch in no time. But, dear wildflowers, I had no idea just how hard it would be to make that dream come true.
I shivered through the first three winters, after realising that my solar battery would not see me through the cold and dark and snow, trudging out to start the generator in my gumboots and dressing gown, faerie umbrella in hand, crawling under the house to reset the battery, brushing spiders and cobwebs from my hair. There have been so many challenges, blood, sweat and tears, and a whole lot of mud and mistakes.
But the garden teaches me so many things, and one of the most important is patience, and learning to adapt to your conditions, problem solving, and... when you make a mistake, you can always try again next season.
On one of my forest walks recently, I was drawn to a little creek and considered that, when a rock falls in its way, the river simply flows around it. When a tree comes down after a thunderstorm, it is as if nature just shrugs and simply sends some mushrooms and moss to make it their new home. I felt like the forest faeries were whispering some wisdom to me – mistakes are just opportunities to try a different approach.
My chicken coop has seen better days, and just like me, my two chickens have been doing it tough in their tiny home this winter. Now, as the days get brighter, I thought it was time to treat them to a Spring surprise, and build them a beautiful new home with a cottage garden of their very own. I put together a lovely green and white ‘cottage style’ chicken coop, made the nesting boxes cosy with wood shavings and herbs from the garden, and potted up some flowers to place around the coop. I also put in a little stone path leading up to the coop, and, in a future episode, want to build a ‘Hobbit style’ chicken run with wicker swinging gate and climbing vines. I honestly think I could live in a little green and white cottage surrounded by garden flowers. Hmm... I kinda do!
It looks like my girls are already loving their new home, and I’m so pleased with the result too! I feel much better knowing that they will be safe and warm through winter, and cool in summer here under the leaves of a peach tree. I can totally imagine little faeries sitting on the poppies and blessing my chickens too! Can you?
Watch the full episode here:
Garden Quiche with Potato, Kale & Rosemary
In the latest episode of my cottage witchy vlog ‘The Rambling Rose’, I share this recipe for a simple Garden Quiche, made with seasonal herbs and greens harvested from my very own veggie garden. I also use eggs from my two beautiful chickens, Hollyhock and Foxglove, who have been laying again – another wonderful sign that spring is just around the corner. In the episode, we also gather flowers such as daffodils, jonquils and snowdrops that herald the Return of the Light, or Imbolc on the pagan Wheel of the Year, and use them as inspiration to paint a few pages of my new book 'Wild Faerie Magick'. With this Garden Quiche we enjoy a simple brunch and a cup of tea in honour of the goddess Brigid. Here’s the recipe…
Ingredients
8-9 free range, happy eggs
2 sheets of vegan puff pastry
1 tbsp of plant-based butter
a splash of almond milk
50g of almond feta
a small handful of kale leaves
a sprig of rosemary, stem removed
1 potato, sliced thinly
salt & pepper, to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C and grease a pie dish with the butter.
Press pastry into the pie dish and around edge to form a crust, trimming excess. Poke holes with a fork and press around the edges for a decorative effect.
Whisk together 6 eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour on top of pasty in the pie dish.
Spread potato gently on top of the egg mixture and then crumble the almond feta on top. Strip the stems from the kale, wash the leaves and chop roughly, then sprinkle on top along with the rosemary. Crack the remaining eggs on top and gently break the yoke.
Brush the pastry edges with a little extra egg mixture and bake for 25-30 minutes until pastry is golden brown. Enjoy!