First to my regulars….sorry….its been frantically busy and sometimes I just don’t get a moment to take the photographs that accompany these posts! There have been lovely garden visits from various groups and an over-subscribed Kitchen Gardening Day; to a garden photo shoot and a quite delightful private day for 2 (the result of a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ prize donated to charity last year and which I think I might offer in the future)…..a real insight into my own Kitchen Gardening practices; with a lot of cooking, eating and conversation…..it was fun! But you can imagine there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to keep the show on the road & often picking up the camera is one stretch too far! To see a few recent images though, have a look at our own instagram page, as well as the lovely Luisa’s – she took some great shots at our Kitchen Gardening Day and I’m planning to work with her to make a ‘Kitchen Gardening Day Look-Book’ to upload to our website soon – watch this space!
However, I DID just take a couple of days away from Glenmore. When Charlotte Thodey gave me early warning that the Australian Garden History Society would run a day on The Potager: History, Art & Influence (from early monastic gardens, through romantic to formal, French to English) I simply couldn’t resist the temptation to book a flight to Melbourne! And so I found myself on Saturday sitting in the Mueller Hall at the Royal Botanic Garden, listening to Paul Kirkpatrick (Estate Gardening) wax lyrical on the topic of flowers, vegetables, fruit and herbs; for the eye, the stomach and cures through the ages; followed by Charlotte’s charming and insightful words on the influence of her childhood gardening experience in New Zealand. Her thoughtful, wistful words were accompanied by such a roll of images of her still life paintings spanning some 30 years – a body of work so amazing to view in this context, but to have painted each one is truly an incredible accomplishment.
The afternoon talk by Pam Vardy on the ‘rise of the community garden in Australia’ saw a journey through the lives of immigrants to our country and how clearly the allotment garden, so popular in Europe for hundreds of years, enables a sense of community and friendship to grow, along with vegetables and herbs. The day’s final speaker was Clive Blazey, who’s Digger’s Club has in the past, and continues to influence and guide many a gardener in this country. He is much admired for his persistence in spreading word of the significance of heirloom seed preservation, as well as the huge environmental concerns facing the world.
It was a day of great inspiration and I recommend you investigate the Australian Garden History Society. I’ve learned much from their journals over the years and its important such groups are supported – I believe that some understanding of what has gone before, can underpin our approach to gardening today.