Community Garden Update
Garlic freshly harvested from my garden plot.
Well the change of seasons has brought a change of plants in the garden. Broadbeans have given us a good crop and it is wonderful to chat with folks who generally bring their children to the adjacent park at Parsons Reserve before the children include the community garden in their play learning. Three years and up seems to be great age as the children are learning the names of fruit and vegetables and don’t try to rip plants out of the garden (so much). I have had to cable tie the handles of the water reservoirs, as they are too much of a temptation for small hands to turn and let all of the water out.
One small success for me was growing garlic. I only produced one knob, certainly ensuring that the local vampires are in no danger of being repelled, however, it was a success and one that I celebrate.
Another success was the making of rhubarb jam from the rhubarb plant in the community plot. That was embarrassingly easy to make and very tasty. The chillies have come back with a vengeance and I am expecting a good crop this year.
Michelle and I had a “Garden-Off” to pick the best plot, and in our usually unbiased way decided that our two plots were the only ones going through to the final… a hotly contested challenge that saw Michelle come out victorious (this time).
Bee bath in my front yard.
It has been a great year for our micro-garden which has definitely achieved Melbourne City Council’s aims of creating and expanding community through such activities. The respect the garden receives from locals who pass it daily is truly a reflection of the neighbourhood and I love the fact it is basically right outside my front door. I also love the fact that although a relative stranger to Kensington after moving down from Darwin, the garden has certainly expanded my friendships in the Flemington-Kensington neighbourhood.
One other thing I have noticed is that we have good patronage from bees doing their pollination thing. Just a street away is a hive of friendly bees living in a tree and they are also a part of this community, coming and going from their tree collecting nectar. In researching some imagery about bees for posters I plan to put around the garden, I came across an article about building a bee bath, or rather a place for bees to stand and take a drink of water – they get very thirsty. I have built a bee bath in the front and back of my place and bees definitely drop by for a drink and if I get a little pollination from them on the way through then it is a win-win.
