Kitchen garden: Adam Burgess

Adam and his wife Danielle Burgess moved there 13 years ago when there was just one tree on the block, a huge Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa). The house, built in 1920, was surrounded by a paddock in which four Clydesdale horses ambled around the one acre property.

As Adam says, his arrival at the Arboretum site was similar where there were piles of burnt logs pushed up by bulldozers and the ground was knee-deep in 'talcum powder' dust. Apart from the magnificent Himalayan cedar and cork oak forests the only trees were a few Pinus radiata on Dairy Farmers Hill. Now we appreciate the joy of the young trees, the views, and people really appreciate the ever-evolving forests. Adam is also pleased that the Harvesting Group, part of the Friends of the Arboretum, are raising edible plants in the Discovery Garden to raise funds for the NAC.

In Pialligo, after irrigating and improving the soil, a number of trees have appeared by themselves, including a fig tree which pleases Danielle who 'loves a fig' and makes fig jam. Adam has planted an olive tree which produces big black Kalamata olives, a cherry tree which is pruned to share the crop with the birds, a Meyer lemon tree and a blood orange that produced four fruit last season and is flowering now. A crab apple tree is being trained as a moon tree with branches in circles through which to view the full moon.

Adam and Danielle have two daughters, Tenielle, 14, and Jemma, 12. For their second birthdays Adam bought each of them a fruit tree from Rodney's Nursery in Pialligo, one nectarine and one peach. The fruit is eaten fresh and some is bottled by Danielle.

Adam purchases vegetable seedlings from an Asian stall holder at Jamison Trash 'n' Treasure markets. He says they are grown by people with passion and much of the stock is organic. His magnificent artichokes have been in the home garden for four years and they look as spectacular in neon purple/blue flowers in December as they do with the edible artichoke heads in springtime.

Broccoli is cropping now with onions, large slate grey cabbages and lettuces. The strawberry harvest has just begun and it will be followed by raspberries and thornless blackberries which are in flower and Danielle freezes some of the crop for later use. Adam is a chilli fan and can't wait for the new season. He grows as many chillies as possible and tries different varieties each year.

Jemma saved up and bought an incubator which was 'borrowed' by her grandfather ('Poppy') in Milton. He came to visit for her birthday on 22 October and it was filled with eggs which hatched that night. The chicks are kept in the bathroom at night.

Twenty Silkie and Pekin bantams and Isa Brown chickens produce lots of fresh eggs every day. There are also ducks and Danielle cooks the duck eggs too. Adam has planted lots of herbs including French tarragon, oregano and chocolate mint and the chooks peck through the mint which creates a pleasant smell.

As we chatted, Robert, the five-year- old rooster started crowing. Adam says, "he follows me around and cock-a- doodle-dos at me because he knows he is a special rooster who looks after the girls/chickens." There is also Molly the dog, a big kelpie who pinches the occasional egg and takes it to a corner to eat. Adam says this keeps her coat shiny and all gardeners "like to share the wealth'.

Danielle has been a chef at Merici College for the past four years and, from the Merici tomato plant sale on 29 October, the Burgess family bought Tommy Toe, Red Bumblebee, Jaune Flammee and Money Maker plants. There were twenty varieties of tomatoes grown from seed by the Year 9 Sustainabilty class from which to choose.

Danielle says she likes to use the special treats from their garden. Her special pavlova is made with love. To use the egg yolks, she tops the meringue with lemon curd before adding the fruit.

4 egg whites at room temperature

pinch of salt

250g castor sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white-wine vinegar

a few drops of pure vanilla

300ml cream, firmly whipped

passionfruit pulp

figs, raspberries, cherries, peaches and nectarines

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and draw a 20cm circle on the paper.

Beat egg whites and salt until satiny peaks form. Beat in sugar, a third at a time, until meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over cornflour, vinegar and vanilla and fold in lightly. Mound onto paper-lined baking tray within circle, flattening top and smoothing sides. Place in oven, immediately reduce heat to 150C and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce heat further to 120C and cook for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave pavlova in it to cool completely. Invert pavlova onto a platter. (You can pile on cream and spoon over passionfruit pulp.)

(Note: if your oven does not adjust temperature quickly you may have better results by cooking the pavlova at 120C for two hours.)

4 egg yolks

2/3 cup castor sugar

60g unsalted butter

2 tsp grated lemon zest

100ml lemon juice

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until well combined but not frothy. Tip into a heavy-based non-reactive saucepan and add butter, zest and juice. Stir constantly, bring to simmering point over a medium-high heat (about 5 minutes). As soon as bubbles appear, remove from heat, still stirring. Allow to cool.

Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.