"Is there a community garden in Byron Bay?" Ms Tagalong asked the taxi driver hopefully. He should know. He had been living there since the 80s he told us. Ms Tagalong just hadn't trusted Google, surely Mullumbimby didn't harbour the closest one?
He shook his head. "There's the garden at the primary school," he offered helpfully, catching my eye in the rear view mirror, "they're always looking for volunteers."
At this juncture I hastily disabused him of the volunteering notion. "Oh I just want to take photos." At which point he lapsed into silence. Ms T was not able to ascertain if this was a surly one or otherwise. It could just have been caused by navigating the Pacific Highway, verdant greenery encroaching on both sides. Abundant growth tumbled down the hills, a playground for bushes overseen by the stern schoolmaster Mt Warning.
Bereft of the opportunity to gawk over someone else's community garden Ms Tagalong steered a walk past aforesaid primary school.
A compost heap and a few raised beds were spied through the railings. Whoops and screams from the family carnival being held on the school grounds probably explained the lack of budding horticulturalists (no pun intended)tending these beds.
So that was it. George, a long-time Byron Bay resident bemoaned the lack of community. He felt that the close-knit, hippy-fringed, Bay community had gone the way of hippiedom, really. The newcomers weren't interested in community, only in making money and so it has remained in these tourist mecca years.
So beware going off chasing the dream, fellow gardeners, it might just be here in your own community!
Byron Bay does have the most spectacular sunsets though!
Well, very surprised Byron Bay has no community Garden, perhaps you should extend an Olive branch/stalk of spinach and help them get started?!
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