Robyn and her partner Julie started the garden in 2008. It was an empty lot and dust bowl when they moved in. The couple drew the design for a pool and garden which was adapted by Fox Landscapes during the landscaping of the garden. The alluring green fresh water pool and pumping technology was designed by Ralf Schmiel of Gartenart.

They chose to grow edibles because Julie likes to cook, Robyn's mother grew up on a small market garden in Sydney and her father was from a farm in the Netherlands, so her family always grew vegetables. Robyn became interested in WW2 gardening campaigns to help with the food supply on the home front by growing vegetables among the flowers and, in Watson, the aesthetics of this mixture is attractive. The flowers aid pollination and help keep pests away.

For most of her adult life Robyn has lived in cool climate places including Armidale NSW, the Blue Mountains and now Canberra. She believes in sustainability so they don't use any sprays or poisons. They are into composting, growing local and gardening as a way of recycling.

In their smallish suburban garden, the idea was to see how much they could do with the space. Nine years ago they purchased four mature, 8-year-old, espaliered fruit trees from the Heritage Nursery in Yarralumla and these were used to divide the garden. Robyn had seen amazing apple arches in the UK so a feature is an apple arch with three different varieties.

There are four black copper Maran hens, purchased from a breeder in Goulburn who specialises in exotic chicken breeds. Marans are said to lay a dark chocolate brown eggs but, in Watson, the eggs are fairly pale and they only lay about two eggs per day but these are the tastiest eggs Robyn has eaten.

In 2010 Robyn purchased six truffle infused hazelnut trees from 'Perigord Truffles of Tasmania' to plant beside three tall, established hazelnut trees. This proved to be the best place for the chook run. The chickens are the garden's weed and pest control and they may also be truffle gourmands as not one truffle has yet been seen.

To one side of the garden is a large pergola built by ACT decks. Robyn and Julie have coffee there most mornings and they have friends and family over for dinner there in summer. During The Canberra Times' visit, we enjoyed its cool shade and watching a warbling magpie bathing under mist from a watering system. The pergola is densely covered by foliage of two grape vines, one a Canberra variety developed by the CSIRO for the climate and conditions of Canberra. Bunches of grapes hang at eye height.

Most vegetables in the garden are purchased as seedlings at the EPIC farmers market or as souvenirs on driving holidays. Zucchini, tromboncini (the trombone squash), eggplants and strawberries are cropping at the moment and Julie has shared a favourite seasonal recipe from Plenty (2010) by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Another dish from Plenty which they make often from homegrown produce is a cucumber salad with smashed garlic and ginger.

OPEN GARDEN CANBERRA: 'Dragonflies and Blue Bees' at 19 A'Beckett Street, Watson, will be open on 24 and 25 February from 10am to 4pm, cost $8 per adult, members free, gold coin donation to Bob Brown Foundation.

Stuffed zucchini

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

110g short grain rice

2 tbsp currants

1 tbsp pine nuts

2 tbsp chopped parsley

half tsp each dried mint and ground allspice

quarter tsp each ground cinnamon and cloves

3 tbsp lemon juice

3 medium courgettes (zucchini)

180ml boiling water

1.5 tsp sugar

Saute the onion with the oil until softened. Add rice, currants, pine nuts parsley, mint, spices and half the lemon juice. Continue cooking on low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Halve the zucchini lengthways, scoop out some of the flesh to make boats. Sit in a shallow saucepan side by side. Fill with rice stuffing. Pour the boiling water, remaining lemon juice, sugar and some salt around zucchini. The liquid should come up just underneath the filling. Simmer, covered for 30-40 minutes, basting the filling occasionally with the cooking juices. The zucchini are ready when th rice is al dente and almost all the juices have evaporated. Allow to cool down completely before refrigerating. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.