For a keen gardener in Garran, I bought a bok choy plant in pot plus a bowl from which to eat it. In my courtyard, I planted two of the bok choy plants in a trough. The seedlings came from the River Road Nursery in Oaks Estate through their stall at Southside Farmers Market. They were covered with fine net bags and surrounded by (non-toxic to animals) snail pellets. The seedlings were shredded even then and one friend said, that is holey bok choy.

Derris or tomato dust was recommended but, meanwhile, I have put coffee grounds around the stems and things seem to be improving. My coffee grounds came from a favourite brunch cafe at Deakin but customers at Two Before Ten in Aranda (closed Christmas Day only) can take away a free, filled, Earth Bag made from recycled paper which is compostable. Chris Dennis says they have been a real hit so they have no coffee waste anymore from 60kgs of coffee a week.

Carrots and potatoes should never be peeled but always scrubbed, even those left out for the reindeer.

For root eaters, the most practical gift is an Eco Max 100 per cent natural kitchen brush made in Sri Lanka from husk fibre of the coconut.

The hard vegie brush with a sustainable timber handle is perfect as it can hang to dry. Stockists include Let's Be Natural in Mawson, Acton Food Co-op shop, Mountain Creek Wholefoods Griffith, Rodney's Plants Plus in Pialligo, Cook's Friendly Grocer, As Nature Intended in Belconnen and Natural Selection in Civic. They also make body brushes for sensitive skin from the bark of the jute plant which is recommended "for the decolletage or face".

The Bible Garden at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Barton has never looked better. The pomegranates are covered in bright orange/red flowers with fruits just forming, the sage is vivid purple, the grape vines are providing shade on a pergola, the Judas tree is covered in blood red pods, Madonna lilies are milky white and hollyhock flowers are jet black.

Bees are buzzing and raspberry bushes are netted as the crop is being saved for a special function. So, in the spirit of Christmas, for a good cook who has a sweet tooth and his friend who loves cake, both of them energetic hill-climbing walkers, I chose 'Suqar" by Greg and Lucy Malouf (publisher Hardie Grant Books) with photographs by Alan Benson.

Greg Malouf, in the introduction, says satisfy your hunger with savoury foods but nourish your soul with dessert, a culinary concept that can be traced back to Persian, Arab and Ottoman empires. The book, filled with treats and tastes from the modern Middle East, was only published in November but someone who has a copy said she has already baked the raspberry-yoghurt bundt with maple glaze three times. Delectable with yoghurt an ingredient to add moistness. For summer, saffron ice cream caught my eye as did nectarine-caramel muhallabeya, the classic milk pudding that is a stalwart of Lebanese restaurants. However it was a jazzed up Lebanese garden salad with seasonal stone fruits which we share here, with permission, as an edited extract.

Serves 4-6

Sweet Lemon Dressing:

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil slowly. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes to slightly reduce the syrup. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. Fish out the vanilla bean and save it to perfume your sugar canister. Chill until required. To blanch peaches, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add the fruit and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of iced water and, when they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half, remove the stones and peel away the skins with a sharp paring knife. Cut all the larger fruit into chunks of roughly similar size. Keep the cherries whole, unless they are very big. Combine in a large mixing bowl and toss gently with the chilled lemon dressing. Transfer to a serving bowl and decorate with small mint leaves. Tuck shards of wafers in among the pieces of fruit and serve the fattouche as it is, or with something creamy on the side.