MY BOOK IS PUBLISHED
On the 26th February, 2009 I became a published author. My book Wildflowers, wilderness and wine was released on this site http://stores.lulu.com/strictlyliterary
My literary agent had presented my manuscript to a number of big name publishers in Australia only to be told they regretted that they were not publishing any books of this genre. Amazingly, it proved relatively easy to have the book published in the USA. We are now in a global society and people are increasingly using the internet, so rather than have many books printed and on display in stores, we have taken the option of having my book printed on demand.
This is the photo used on the cover, where the dedication reads:To Eberhard, my dear husband and supportive partner in Das Helwig Haus B&B.
The cover of Wildflowers, wilderness and wine.
This photo was taken by freelance photographer David Martinelli when he was preparing a feature of the Sunday-Mail newspaper about our Remembrance Field and 11th November observance of the signing of the Armistice Treaty at Versailles in France at the end of World War One.
Eberhard and Fay
The publishers have called Wildflowers, wilderness and wine a Travel Memoir – a genre I would never have considered, yet I hope it will do much to attract travelers to visit the region.
I thought I was writing a tale about my life operating a Bed and Breakfast home on an organic farm in a wine tourism district. I revealed my hopes, fears and frustrations as I coped with seasonal droughts, bushfires, floods and frosts. I shared my joy in welcoming guests to my home and teaching young international travelers known as WWOOFers – Willing Workers on Organic Farms the skills of organic gardening and self-sufficiency. Primarily it was my intention to bring the attention of the world to the unique qualities of the Granite Belt district, centered around the town of Stanthorpe.
The wildflowers of the region take many forms. The word Girraween means flowers in the Aboriginal language and many Australian wildflowers are to be seen in the Girraween National Park, probably better known for its granite rock formations.
After climbing the Pyramid mountain, other granite monoliths are revealed.
The wildflowers of the region consist of numerous Australian varieties, but also many imported garden flowers have found the climate and soil type of the Granite Belt conducive for propagation and in some instances have spread to become a pest. One such beautiful flower gone wild is the coreopsis daisy – a perennial plant, whose seed is spread by the Eastern Rosella parrot.
Coreopsis growing wild under eucalyptus trees
This view shows a little girl surrounded by wild coreopsis in grassland.
Golden coreopsis fascinate.
These golden coreopsis reach their peak in November at the same time as the poppies in the Remembrance Field are in full bloom.
Flanders poppies delight a child.
Children and adults alike can take pleasure in the wildflowers and wilderness, but it is the high altitude wineries of the region that bring most visitors to the Granite Belt.
Grape vines at the Felsberg Winery.
From the Felsberg Winery high on the eastern hills forming the Glen Aplin valley I took this view of the valley below. Our home is hidden amongst trees on the far side of the valley. The green fields of vineyards carpet the slopes.
Vineyards of the Glen Aplin valley.
Amongst these massed wildflowers, the rocky mountains and prosperous vineyards sits my home of Das Helwig Haus B&B. This is the setting for dinner parties and conversation, which form much of the dialogue in Wildflowers, wilderness and wine.
Christmas in July at Das Helwig Haus B&B
Das Helwig Haus B&B has a remarkable garden but it is only due to the assistance of WWOOFers that I am able to prepare it and open it to the public each year.
A Korean youth works as a WWOOFer
Yet it is not my remarkable garden, the hospitality of my home, the wildflowers, wilderness and wines of the region that make the Granite Belt a unique destination. It is the connection of the Granite Belt with the World War One battlefields of France and Belgium. It was on the Granite Belt in 1920 that a Soldier Settlement was established to provide returned servicemen with the opportunity to obtain blocks of farm land where they could plant apple orchards. Seven village communities were built, each with a railway siding. These destinations were named Amiens, Messines, Bapaume, Passchendaele, Bullecourt, Pozieres and Fleurbaix.
As a gardener, I recognized that in this cool mountain climate we could grow the scarlet Flanders poppies.
No where else in the world is there a district with World War One battlefield place names and a climate that allows the poppies to bloom for Remembrance Day, 11th November. It is this unique feature that I wished to promote when I established the Remembrance Field, which will be open to the public again this year on 7/8th November to raise money for Brisbane Legacy.
A Flanders poppy.
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