Who is Garden Girl? Meet Elisabeth Kingman
There are people who garden, and then there are people who seem to speak the language of plants.
Elisabeth Kingman is one of the latter.
Known affectionately as Garden Girl, Elisabeth is a passionate home gardener, garden educator and advocate for getting your hands dirty and growing your own food. Her approach is wonderfully uncomplicated: observe, experiment, learn from the seasons and, above all, have a go.
In the glorious greenhouse that is my life, there are a bounty of friendships that plant, bloom, harvest or go to seed, just like the cycle of life.
I have had the great pleasure of fertilising many a laugh with my friend Elisabeth for plenty of apple seasons, and although we do not enjoy the fruit of our labour together as often as we might like, I have happily watched her oasis blossom from afar.
From garden to table
Elisabeth brings a practical, down-to-earth perspective to gardening. She is not about creating a perfect garden for Instagram. Her philosophy is much more human — learn by doing, accept the occasional failure and enjoy the extraordinary pleasure of watching something grow.
Her passion extends particularly to edible gardening, where the garden becomes part of the kitchen.
A handful of herbs, a few tomatoes, leafy greens, edible flowers or something dug freshly from the soil can completely change the way we cook. When an ingredient has travelled only a few metres from garden to kitchen, there is an immediacy and vitality that no supermarket shelf can quite replicate.
It is also a reminder that food does not begin at the supermarket.
It begins with soil, seed, sun, water, patience and people willing to get their hands dirty.
Garden Girl and Muddy Boots
Elisabeth is perhaps best known today as one half of Muddy Boots, the gardening podcast she co-hosts with landscape designer Keith Edwards.
Together, they explore the practical realities of gardening — from soil, seeds and vegetable patches to plant selection, garden design, seasonal jobs and growing food at home. Their philosophy is refreshingly accessible: gardening is something to experience rather than something you need to be an expert at before you begin.
That spirit is something I love.
Because cooking is much the same.
You don’t need to be a chef to cook good food, just as you don’t need to be a horticulturalist to grow something delicious.
Why gardens matter to our health
A garden can nourish us in more ways than one.
There is the obvious nourishment that comes from eating fresh vegetables, herbs, fruit and edible plants. But there is also the less tangible nourishment of spending time outdoors, observing nature, moving our bodies and reconnecting with the rhythm of the seasons.
Growing food creates a different relationship with eating.
A lettuce becomes something you have watched develop. A tomato becomes something you have waited patiently for. Herbs become ingredients you can reach for while cooking dinner.
That sense of connection matters.
For me, food as medicine starts long before the food reaches the plate. It begins with the quality of the ingredients, the soil they come from, the way they are grown and our relationship with food itself.
The joy of getting your hands dirty
Perhaps that is what I admire most about Elisabeth.
She makes gardening feel achievable.
There is no intimidating horticultural jargon or expectation that everything needs to be perfect. Instead, there is curiosity, humour, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.
And sometimes, of course, there is a spectacularly successful crop.
Other times, there are tomatoes that mysteriously disappear, seedlings that refuse to cooperate and vegetables that look nothing like the picture on the packet.
That’s gardening.
And perhaps that’s life too.
So if you haven’t grown anything lately, plant something.
A pot of herbs will do.
Get your hands into the soil, notice what happens and enjoy the process.
Because the journey from garden to kitchen to table is one of the most nourishing journeys we can make.
And if Garden Girl has anything to do with it, we’ll all be getting a little more muddy along the way.
About Elisabeth Kingman
Elisabeth Kingman, aka Garden Girl, is a passionate home gardener and co-host of the Muddy Boots podcast with landscape designer Keith Edwards. Together they share practical advice and conversations about gardening, garden design, edible gardens and growing food at home.
Elisabeth has also collaborated with her sister Lisa McGlinchey on a beautifully illustrated What to Plant When vegetable and herb guide for temperate Victoria, celebrating the practical and creative side of growing your own food.
Elisabeth, an energetic wife, mother of two, mad keen gardener and now a social media gardening personality. Elisabeth has worked extensively in both the entertainment and recruitment industries and, most recently, in local government, but she has always had a passion for gardening. Elisabeth decided that it was time to turn her passion into a business. And so “Garden Girl” was born!
Along with the enthusiastic assistance of her husband Brett, a guitarist and renowned YouTube guitar-gear demonstrator, Elisabeth creates relaxed and informative garden-based videos that cover everything from her own beautiful garden on the Mornington Peninsula to those of talented friends and local garden destinations.
Elisabeth also offers a garden advice and consulting service to those wanting to broaden or make improvements to their gardens. There are many people out there who would love a beautiful garden but are unsure perhaps where to even begin: this is an area where Elisabeth can help and advise.
The Garden Girl brand and online entity are in their infancy at the time of writing. But you can bet it won’t take long until GG is a well-known force in the world of gardening and the media in general.
Grow get ‘em, Garden Girl!
Dukkah-crusted chicken, crunchy apple and iceberg salad.
- Total Time30 minutes
- YieldServes 4
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 230/210 C fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Place cashews in a small food processor.
- Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Add cumin, coriander, sesame seeds and sea salt.
- Mix well to combine. (If short on time, use a prepared dukkah mixture).
- Place flour on a large plate. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine half the yoghurt and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl.
- Working with 1 piece at a time, toss chicken in flour, shaking off excess.
- Dip in yoghurt mixture, allowing excess to drain. Transfer to prepared tray.
- Sprinkle with nut mixture pressing to secure. Drizzle liberally with olive oil.
- Bake for 20 mins until chicken is golden and cooked through.
- Meanwhile, cook potato in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 mins or until tender.
- Add peas during the last 2 mins of cooking time. Drain. Rinse under cold water. Drain.
- Combine remaining yoghurt, lemon juice and chives in a small jug to make a dressing.
- Season with salt and pepper. Slice chicken.
- Place potato, chicken, lettuce, mint, apple, onion, peas and walnuts on a platter.
- Drizzle with dressing. Serve.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Salad
- Cuisine: Modern Australian
How to Eat, Plant, Grow with Garden Girl
What’s your survival food after a day in the garden?
I am a constant muncher! I eat raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews) as I work in the garden to give me energy and drink loads of water. I also make my own Bircher muesli, which I have for breakfast each day.
What’s your healthy go-to comfort food?
I don’t think you can beat the freshness and delicious flavours of Vietnamese food, which I absolutely love! Not only does it taste great, it’s also full of vitamins and minerals, so it gives me a good energy boost. My go-to comfort food when we are at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant is prawn rice paper rolls and beef in wild betel leaves.
Do you have a secret recipe that keeps your hands and body in shape?
I garden both for my enjoyment and to keep in shape. It definitely keeps me fit. My hands get a good workout too, so I make sure I wear hardy garden gloves and pile on Aesop’s Resurrection Aromatique hand balm every night.
Who would you most like to have dinner with? Dead or alive and why?
I love nothing more than a relaxed, no-fuss dinner with my family and close friends, especially when my husband, the creative foodie of our family, is cooking!
What is your ‘can’t live without’ garden gadget?
My garden gloves! I’m very tactile in the garden and tend to use my hands more than any implement so the gloves are a necessity.
Which plant makes you the happiest?
The hydrangea. The massive and colourful blooms of the hydrangea flower bring a smile to my face as they remind me of my mum’s 1960’s petalled swimming caps.
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