For those members who haven’t visited the garden recently, there have been lots of changes and more to come! Our timber garden beds, which had been in storage at the local Council’s depot, are now in place at the garden. Seven have been dug in and are ready for planting and another 2 beds are at the site and ready for placement. The management committee has approved funds for the building of an arbor which will include three of these beds and a pergola off the storage shed. These will built after Easter. Two of our larger colourbond beds are also ready to place in the garden after Easter (stay tuned for a working bee).

The compost and storage bays are complete and have already been put to good use! The shadehouse is installed with gravel base and is providing a great environment for our propagation trays. Children helped build and install the worm farm at the AGM.

The playgroup has installed and planted out 2 children’s gardens. There are 2 more children’s gardens to go in after Easter.

Council has provided funding for a path to be built to the garden, which will provide disabled access. This is quite a large project and has required the garden to be cordoned off for a couple of weeks, beginning on April 11th. In addition to the path, the work will include providing drainage for our tank into a bog garden in the dampest part of the garden and spreading decomposed granite (deco) around our existing raised beds to improve disabled access through the garden. As always, Council support for the garden has been fantastic.

A noticeboard and small bike rack have been ordered and will be ready for installation in early May. The regular garden working bees and playgroup are on hold for a couple of weeks to allow for Council to undertake the above works. They will resume w/c 30 April.

Planting has nearly finished at the Bethania Street garden according to the 2X4 bed crop rotation system developed by Adam (from the Planting Bud)

Bed allocation:

• i) brassicas/leaf
• ii) alliums
• iii) root and fruiting
• iv) legumes

The Autumn crop includs: pakchoy, brussell sprouts, radish, lettuce, spinach, beetroot, spring onions, shallots, mustard greens, rocket, daikon, carrots, 3 types of beans and sugarsnap peas as well as companion plants including pansies, basil, fennel, calendula and nasturtiums.

Coming in the next 2 weeks: garlic, kale, globe artichoke, potatoes and asparagus.

If you are interested in learning more there’s a seed box in the shed with summaries of what to plant in March, April and May developed from Brisbane Organic Growers lists and Gardening Australia. For more information about sub-tropical autumn planting also see: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/vegieguide/

The garden coordinating committee for Wondall Road have been meeting regularly.  Thanks to their hard work, they have a garden plan and design well underway and discussed with the WMCGG management committee –see attached design. Timber for beds has been donated and they are awaiting Church approval to install a water system.

The team managing WMCGG’s Wondall Road garden have been busy planning and are now ready to get their hands dirty. They will be building the first garden beds this weekend.

A working bee will be held from 8am. Please come along and provide a hand. Note it will be very physical work digging and building beds so bring your muscles. Please also bring all of your own safety equipment (hats, gloves, water, sunscreen).

We look forward to seeing you there.

The amazing sustainable house and garden at 56 Daisy Street, Wynnum – adapted and retrofitted by well-known Gardening Australia presenter, Jerry Coleby-Williams, and Jeff Poole – has been carefully designed to reduce its impact on the natural environment. Everything in the garden is grown organically and with minimal watering. In the back garden, fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices grow in abundance, while the lush and decorative front garden contains plants chosen for their ability to survive on natural rainfall.

Why not take this rare opportunity to visit this extraordinary garden and see just how much has been achieved on an ordinary suburban block – and find out how you can do it too!

For further information visit Jerry’s website or phone Open Gardens Australia: (03) 5424 8061