Air Gardens

Ms Tagalong is always on the lookout for gardens to report on. Gardens here, gardens there, gardens anywhere. Mostly her eyes are groundwards, maybe sweeping upwards to some bushes and trees.

Strolling along the North Bank of the Yarra in Melbourne her beady eyes were taken with some strange shapes swinging and twirling in the breeze above her head. So what were they? Cobweb encrusted coathangers? Weird and wonderful.

Stopping to read, she notes:

‘The concept is to suspend series of super sustainable rotating air gardens within the Melbourne environment.’Lloyd Godman is the artist.  It says Godman’s artworks are purifiers of the air as well as the soul, suppliers of colour as well as calmness, and filters of water as well as the human spirit.

Ms Tagalong calls to Mr Ideasman to see if his spirit feels filtered as she points out the recycled bicycle wheels wrapped in air plants. Enjoying a conversation with his Mum he barely glances and Ms Tagalong feels that perhaps his mind has already sieved out Ms T’s prattle.

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Veg out this year!

Hard to believe whilst the country swelters under the heat Ms Tagalong found a cool spot just a few weeks ago at the Veg Out Community Garden in St Kilda.

Strolling through the ‘co-ordinated whimsy’ from pirate ships to ranch gates Ms Tagalong came across Peter, a 3 years long participant, watering his plot.

‘It’s all about community rather than the plot itself,’ he said.

It certainly seems to be so with over $200,000 raised for local charity projects in the last 10 years, free weekly lunches for the homeless and a thriving Organic Farmer’s Market.

Ideally located in a former bowling club the garden has a working kitchen, classrooms, arts studios, pizza oven, mains water, tanks for watering and toilets. So lucky, thought Ms Tagalong as she listened wide-eyed to the upcoming plans for an extended ‘art fence’ a 3 year long-term project, saw the just completed vine structure and all the sitting areas and art installations.

Hugh, the Vice President relates how they rent out 150 individual plots with participation in 2 working bees for the year which helps install the infrastructure such as the sleeper surrounded beds, the bedhead trellises etc.

An added bonus to membership is the sampling of the 30 litres of wine they made last year!

Mr Ideasman struck up conversation with a lady with a very expensive chicken. A chicken who had had a $2,300 hysterectomy!  She now can’t lay eggs but still tries.  Mmm

So that's it: the community garden Veg Out in Melbourne.

It's great to have some feedback, so please leave me some comments.