Party like its 1492: Pirate garden day, with Le Pain Quotidian

Bellevue Hill Transition Town Garden Creation Party

How serendipitious is this.

On our  first Pirate Garden working party, a lady from the Carribean rocks up, full sail.

In a moving van, in fact. Yes, she moved in as my neighbor, this very day.

What's her job? 

How good is this: Teaching children how to cook from the edible school garden, around the corner. 

Nice!

So from this I discover that

1. The power of themes: Just get clear about the DNA of your garden, the costume party you are creating, and it starts to just happen that way, creating itself.

2. Schoolteachers from the Carribean don't sound like Captian Jack Sparrow. 

They sound like Captian Clive Lloyd, exactly the summery-honeyed way I want to sound in my next reincarnation. 

Rose bay from Cecilia's balcony

Here's how the day went. 

I padded out to the stern in my pyjamas, to check on the wind and waves. 

So far, so good.

The pirate garden sponsors, Le Pain Quotidien

I strolled down to town to pick up the ransom from 'Le Pain Quotidien'. 

A box of the flakiest pasteries. To get a project like this actually working, massive amounts of flakiness is required.

I'm so glad to see the stylish Le Pain Quotidian turn up all the way down here in Sydney.

It brought back memories of my voyages to the wilds of Santa Barbara, that other sparking movie-star of a city.  I really did get my daily bread here. You really don't want to eat most American food, Le Pain Quotidian was the exception, organic, and delicate. 

Damian the Acupuncturist, making friends with the balloons

After our composting, digging, planning, and a bit of balcony-garden recycling, we partied. Like its 1492.  Damian made the hummus. That was the easiest lunch.

No. In spring it will be even easier, picking it from the garden.

We marauded the wizened poor pots that had been languishing on my current balcony garden, took all the soil from the Terra Nullis pots. 

Now they are truly empty, with a the Zen-like expectation of being filled with good things, and getting donated as a whole, lively balcony garden for someone who doesn't also have the miraculous luxury of a big, on-ground pirate garden

Never have plants captive and subject to the capricious whims of humans, when they can be having fun with their friends, in the ground where they belong. 

Unless you have a good reason.

The compacted barren soil is breathing a sigh of relief. Its mingling with the newly-turned compost in the temporary garden beds. 

What alliances are ahead? 

There is a very real chance that the Amazing Charles of Ecolicious Aquaponics might send his crew our way.

Charles does Clever and Beautiful Permaculture. Not many people do, yet. 

Beautiful Permaculture is about to come crashing into our city. 

Exciting.

Edible Aquaponics by Charlie of Ecolicous

Edible Garden design idea: Community Boat garden overlooking Sydney harbour

Cecilia Macaulay in Veg Out garden St. Kilda

Running into George this morning, as we turned soil and dreamed good dreams, we got a new vision for the Community Garden bed renovation: a flotilla of boat gardens. 

Dawn's garden Annandale

The boats can hold the soil as we make it, they can fit benches for us to sit on and chat, a hand's reach away from the things we are growing, guarding and eating. 

They can hold our dreams that one day something amazing will happen.

Maybe we will make it happen.

Boat chicken coop shelves from Rainbow Valley Farm

Itinerant Letterbox, to send love letters, requests and acknowledgments to each other

Here is the plan: we will start off with a Mediteranian sea garden, of basil and thyme and all the things that go with greek lamb, my favourite.  The patron saint will be St. George

Beautiful family of plastic

If you are coming to our garden party next Sunday 26th, give us a call to book yourself in:
0412 474 282

Bring for yourself:
Bento-box lunch, maybe something healthy to share.
Picnic rug
Gloves
Camera

and bring for the flotilla:
Seeds, seedlings,
Old potting mix or expired potplant soil
Compost, kitchen scraps cut small for our compost
Chainsaw and the skill to use it.
Timber. We will make it shiver.
Natural Rope

This garden has a Style Guide, so check that what you bring fits: natural materials, subdude colors.
No milk-crates, plastic string, coat-hanger wire.
Just because its there doesn't mean you have to use it.


Garden Play Dates: 

Thursday July 4th - United States Independence Day

Tending the New World Garden, of corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers, chilli, amaranth. And if we find a turkey, she is welcome to free range.



Monday July 15 - Japanese Ocean Day

Planting and harvesting Japanese Herbs: myoga, shiso, mitsuba, daikon, japanese white beets, and if we are lucky, edamame, so when summer hits, we can pretend to be salarymen snacking on edamame and sapporo beer after work.

Marc Lepage the WonderWWOOFer, with Galligher
at Cecilia's Permaculture House Melbourne

Thurs Sept 19th Talk like a Pirate Day -
We dig for treasure, bring our parrots, see what happens.



Now we need to find our Boat Garden Allies. The fun begins.

Clever water for Bellevue Hill Edible Garden. Creation Party: Sun 26th May 2013

Wicking bed by Cecilia Macaulay

If a garden doesn't have an on-hand or self-managing water source, its predictably goes into a downward spiral. The lettuces get bitter, our favourite trees die. 

We get bitter, and say "Im not loving a garden again!'

But her at Belvue Hill Community garden, the residents are resourceful, we have grant money for water. 

Here is their GardenWiki

And Here are three versions of what I would do to bring water to this garden.

Simple version: 

Squeezy bucket pond network

Decide on a color theme, and buy up a batch of squeezy bucket ponds, about $17 each. 

Fill them with Goldfish, Lotus, watercress, and link them together for freshness and downhill flow.

The fish keep the mossies at bay, and keep someone visiting every day to feed them, and while they are there, scoop some water onto the garden.

Don't forget mesh to keep the fish from migrating. 

Hey, maybe it would be fun for them.

Water comes from a hose, from the mains. But this makes the garden dependent.

For independence, a $900 tank attached to the down pipe works well. 

This system runs on 'People Energy". People spending time dreaming and sunning themselves, and dishing water out of the ponds, into the garden, as they sit and chat. 

Refill the ponds once a week or so.

Benches and lounging spots are essential.

Deluxe Version:

Wicking bed

A wicking bed holds the rain in an underground rock bed, releasing it slowly when needed.

In water emergencies, say, a month without rain, there is a top-up tube for a hose. 

Not totally self-sufficiant, but close enough.

Wicking bed designed for a Thai Orphanage by Cecilia

For inspiration, visit Ecolicious . They make eco beautiful, they are resourceful, and they might be our friends. 

Made from recycled materials

Spin-out version: 

Passive watering with buried terracotta pots

Gravity fed, from our imaginary tank.  2000 year old desert watering technology.
I used them successfully on my balcony garden.
$180 for a set of ten.

Actually, I wouldn't use them in such a big area.
But they will inspire the patio-dwellers.

Wetpots

Wetpots on Cecilia's passively watered balcony garden

We will have fun with this.

Start asking friends for Plants, timber, mirrors, soil, benches... 

Thanks for the salad, George!

International Permaculture Day, Sydney: The How and Why of Beautifying a Community Garden

I usually don't design or invest in ownerless 'community' gardens, but this one was an exception.

What won me over ?

The pavers: someone who cares about beauty is committed to this

The resourcefulness: they had horse-stable sawdust, and were trying to make soil

The secluded spot: only people who live here would know it exists

The popularity: overlooking apartments provide a hoard of potential fans and supporters.

Its sunny, and I want to eat from it, because this is where I live. 

Yes,  up there in those trees.


Here is my re-design.
Now I just have to find the friends to bring the materials, ideas and love-energy

My priorities:

Benches: to get people sitting here, blinking in the sun as they eat their cereal, and notice what is blooming

Curves: to slow people down as they walk though, and get involved, to make the garden 3D

Different wood: these salvaged bits don't match each other, and are seeped in chemical preservatives.

Ponds: I love ponds and on-hand water, so will the garden and its creatures.

Blackboard and chalk: I've got them! Ive been years now without my own house and garden, so I make talking gardens near wherever I find myself living. 

Its not proper for me to do the work myself. 

Is that because I like to be a lady of leisure? 

Its to activate the passers-by to make it 'their' garden. If I don't make it self-maintaing (eliciting people-power), when I dissapear, so does the garden, and thats discouraging. 

"Please water my sawdust-blend so it will decompose"
"Please eat my spring onions'

Garden 

 

Here is one vision, for a more 3D garden

I did a big tidy-up, so a wider range of people would start to love the garden. I discovered a few treasures, including...

... George the Greek.
He told me of the buckets of food he has been growing from this sandy spot, the last 2 years, and what a rubbish dump it first was.

He instructed me to take this and that, and how to cook it, drink it.

Spring onions and mint went in my riccotta zucchini flowers

They were delicious.

Permaculture Beautifying

Here is what you do:

1. Discard useless and unbeautiful things. 

An unused resource is pollution, it repels people from becoming friends with the garden. Decide what materials you use, try to keep them less than three 'familes' of materials, for peaceful supportive infrastructure.

2. Make patterns, even of your rubbish.

If things are disorderly, you eyes dim their perception, so your brain doesn't get scrambled. But then you don't see the beauty, the possibilities, or things calling 'eat me!' 

So I made some patterns.

I put the bricks and wood into square angles. Then I realised, we could use the rubble inside a herb spiral.

3. Make the materials comfortable

I layed the cardboard down flat, so it can go 'off duty' and have a rest. When I look at it, I can feel 'rest'.

People are naturally sympathetic. When we see the objects around us having a good time, we catch their good feeling.

I wanted to put the plastic in the bin, but i have to leave it to the garden bosses, whoever they are. 

Here is a garden boss! Damian came out, told me about what a rubbish dump it once was, and how delicious it has been ever since. 

Catch! He picked the capsicum for me. This is going straight to my thai coconut curry.

Seven years adventuring in one dear sweater. Who can knit me my next beloved jumper-friend?

 

Jumper at Heide Musuem of art 2007

To my dear Jumper:

You kept me warm in rough and glamorous times, you freed me up to go and do what I love.

You stayed in perfect shape the whole time we were together. 

For seven years I never had to worry about what to wear.

You have been like a husband to me.

Nobody really complained that I wore you most of the time.

Just like I never minded that my cat wears the same fur all the time, it suits him so perfectly.

Now there are too many holes to darn. 

What will I do without you?

Tea Ceremony Roppongi 2007

Windy place Mols Denmark

Yes I can rock climb Denmark

Jumper on a battleship, 2006

Jumper photographed by a Taiwanese artist, Williamstown 2006

Jumper for Breakfast, Hawksbury river, after sleeping the night in my car 2012

Jumper on the tram, BYO chair 2006

Jumper designing a community garden in Japan 2010

Beach Nap Denmark

Jumper having lunch in Jiyugaoka  2009

Tired jumper on Tatami,  Kanazawa Bunko 2013
making Permaculture Gardens

Please pass this post on to a knitter who can knit me my next jumper to love. 

Im hoping to meet someone who will let me donate the knitting cost to charity, 

someone who will knit it full of love. 

0412 474 282