Been: Saturday 10 January 2015

Our January working bee morning was preceded by a couple of days and nights of consistent and very welcome rain. The garden, already looking splendid with rostered watering in action since early December (thanks to Peter O… Lena… Lindy, Andrew & kids… Peter & Chris... Karen & Leo… Mara… Dave… Jacinta & family… & Jo!) is especially verdant and bursting with growth ... as these pics show.

While different plants throughout the garden are at various stages of their cycles (as at any time of the year) summer through autumn is a particularly bountiful season… A walk-through summary of current flora includes coriander, comfrey, varieties of lettuce, leeks, chives, basil, parsley, apples, strawberries, rosemary, spinach, lemon balm, beetroot, kale, broccoli, chives, tomatoes, pumpkin, mustard greens, cauliflower, corn, beans, snow peas, thyme, potatoes, vietnamese mint, zuchini, eggplant, capsicum .... & more.

A glance at 'the wash-up' pics in the December bee post below gives you an immediate measure of the dramatic growth over the last 4 weeks!

Saturday's modest session was more a talking bee than a working bee. First on-site was homecomer Patrick with young Woody – back from their 8000+km bike trek – joining him were Peter O, Peter & Chris J, Tony, & Ian. Meg & our favourite canine Zero, Jeremy & Tia with Jasper & Arden also came by.

Pete J, Pete O, Patrick, Chris

Pete, Pete   . . . . . . . .   Chris, Tony

As well as ongoing planting and maintenance details, talk concerned a felt need to encourage the community in recognising and using the garden as an open resource: a green space to enjoy, with free food available for responsible sharing. Therefore it's been decided to place a prominent sign, easily seen by Albert Street passersby, inviting people to not just harvest produce, but to see the garden as a small oasis for social warming. Watch this space!

It was also decided to revitalise our online presence and networking, particularly our Facebook page.