An Irish native peace tree

We made up the garden for the Southern Cross Permaculture Institute by the river at the Sustainable Living Festival last month, with natives and fruit trees and herbs, a lovely grapefruit tree in its pot bowling over regularly in the wind! Ro was very happy sitting under the tree in the dirt on his Bolivian blanket from Mel and Tobes, laughing with everyone who came to have a rest in the garden, having his naps in his pram in the tent at the back.

A woman from Ireland and her husband came by and bought some of the beautiful natives and donated them to us to plant; they had planned to come to Australia to live but her mother was dying so they were going back to Ireland.

Cam and Ro planted them along the path to the chookhouse, where they’ll become part of the support for the future edible forest garden (fixing nitrogen in the soil, protection from wind etc), and meanwhile just be beautiful in themselves as well.

May our Irish woman and her mother have much peace.

Produce report

Here is some kale, now in the headlights of the bulldozers, down the middle of what will be a path for the new beds. I had to take a photo – in my fancy they look like Egyptian fans for slave girls to wave over Cleopatra on a languid day…

…while feeding her grapes! They are delicious, sweet and slightly tart and taste like the deep colour purple, even if they are small and taken up by a lot of seed!