One packet of Yates Baby Combo lettuce seeds was shared among three of us and sown in pots. They have germinated and the frilled red and green leaves will be perfect for a gourmet winter salad. To add cheerful colour to the salad, we have planted yellow, blue and white pansies ($2 a pot at Bunnings) for their edible petals.

A man who lives up the hill - an immaculate gardener - has built a wooden frame behind his neighbour's townhouse and filled it with dark homemade compost. He has planted two rows of lettuces, a double row of carrots and a line of silverbeet. As I admired the bounty, a young woman came out of her back gate with a container full of kitchen veg and fruit scraps. She tipped them into one of two compost bins adjoining the garden bed and said the harvest was to be shared between her, the gardener and his wife. Perfect.

My neighbour had a large cauliflower. She removed the leaves, did some trimming and cut it into large florets to share. Another neighbour dashed to Under Bakery in Mawson (open from 8am, Thursday to Sunday) for their Swedish bullar, cardamom spiced brioche buns, eaten slightly warmed for morning tea.

At Australian National Botanic Gardens a favourite tree has always been the lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora). The crushed leaves have an incomparable citrussy scent and taste. The dried ground leaves are sold by Herbie's Spices.

At the National Library cafe they serve lemon myrtle pan fried trout with flying fish roe and salad. We ate that on Mothers' Day when sun shining through the Leonard French designed stained glass windows turned my flat white coffee a shade of rich bronze.

Returning home, it was a great delight to find a cake in an airtight container topped with flowers on the pine cone basket at my front door. The maker and deliverer was a neighbour, young enough to be my daughter. Her lemon tree grows and thrives in a large pot she painted bright yellow with green spots.

The cake was an Italian lemon ricotta creation (recipe follows, from creator Angela at thisitaliankitchen.com) accompanied by a "lick off the spoon" raspberry coulis made to the baker's own recipe (which follows). I shared slices with neighbours and friends. The note said to refrigerate for up to a week and to warm each slice slightly before eating. Perfect for afternoon tea or dessert but also suggested for brunch or even breakfast.

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 23cm springform pan using butter and powdered sugar; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl or stand up mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until combined. Add in the ricotta cheese and blend until light and fluffy, about four to five minutes.

3. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix to combine.

4. In the same bowl, stir in the baking soda and salt. Lastly add in the flour and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of bowl to fully incorporate all of the ingredients.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

6. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing the collar and base of the pan. Cool on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Ingredients are approximate measurements - really just judged by taste.

1. Heat the first three ingredients until sugar has dissolved and raspberries have defrosted.

2. Simmer until it thickens. You may need to add a little water or more sugar, depending on how sweet you would like it. Add the alcohol at the end, and again, more or less depending on how boozy you would like it.

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