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Welcome to our latest newsletter. Read news and updates from around the garden, and don’t miss our next social gathering - morning tea with a very special guest - on Sunday 4 August.͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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Greetings! In this issue, you’ll find an invitation to our next social event – featuring a very special guest – coming up soon on 4 August, as well as the low-down on an intriguing herb in our ‘Close up’ series, and all the news from around the garden. A reminder that winter working bee times are:
- Wednesdays and Saturdays in the rambling potager garden, 8.30am–10.30am
- Sundays in the kitchen and bushfood gardens, 3pm–5pm
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Winter social event:
Tea from the gardenDon’t miss this very special ‘elevenses’ – Cathy Zhang of Ms Cattea Tea Bar will join us to share her tea-blending expertise and explore some fragrant infusions using leaves picked fresh from our garden. Bring a teacup and your tastebuds primed for a unique experience. Coordinators from each area of the garden will also be on hand for info about plants and plans. In the garden*
11am, Sunday 4 AugustAdd to calendar
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* Weather permitting. If it’s pouring with rain, check the WhatsApp chat for updates.
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RENEWAL TIMEThanks to all of you who have already renewed your membership for 2024/25. If you haven’t received your renewal invoice – or you have any questions or concerns – please get in touch. We’ve kept the fee at just $40 for the coming year so we hope you can continue your support. And if you’re not yet a member, now’s a great time to sign up. Find out how. Membership gives you the opportunity to be as involved as you want in the garden, whether that’s regularly – or occasionally – getting your hands in the soil at a working bee, sharing in planting and harvesting, signing up for weekly maintenance tasks - or just taking pleasure in the garden and feeling good about supporting a community organisation.
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FAREWELLSIt was a bittersweet occasion in late April when we gathered to farewell two stalwarts of the garden, Alison (Ali) Mackay and Fionnuala Heidenreich, before they set off on new life adventures. Ali was one of the foundation members of the garden and a vital part of the group that put together the original Management Plan required by Council. A keen gardener with a strong community focus, she served in multiple committee positions over many years and was most recently coordinator of the kitchen garden team. Fionnuala played a leadership role in the bush food garden since its inception, as well as serving on the committee and contributing her design and communication skills in multiple ways: the diagram in the masthead of this newsletter is Fionnuala's work, as is the garden sign. They will be missed but their legacy continues. We sent them off with tea, fruity (non-alcoholic) g&t and baked treats, as well as the thanks and best wishes of all current and past members.
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Fionnuala (centre, in red t-shirt) and Ali (third from right) with some fellow gardeners |
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All areas of the garden are in winter mode, with growth slowing among the perennials and cool-season crops enjoying the chill in the air. There’s still plenty to do though, and everyone is welcome to drop in during working bees - even if you can’t commit much time regularly. Whatever level of involvement you can offer, it’s always appreciated.
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In the RAMBLING POTAGER GARDEN, winter greens are thriving including brassicas like broccoli, gai lan (chinese broccoli) and bok choy. Several types of lettuce are also doing well, especially our favourite ‘Rabbit Ear’ and ‘Freckles’ varieties. Companion french marigolds (Tagetes patula) brighten up the garden as they soak in the winter sun. |
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The ‘Purple Dragon’ carrots in this photo were particularly delicious. They’re healthy too: the violet-coloured skin is rich in antioxidants, and like all carrots, the yellow-orange core is full of beta-carotene, a source of vitamin A. Here’s an interesting fact: today’s familiar orange carrots can be traced back to the mostly purple varieties grown in the Afghanistan region thousands of years ago. |
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One of the two young malabar chestnut trees (Pachira glabra) at the front of the garden produced a couple of spectacular flowers in autumn. Also known as ‘Saba Nut’, this medium-sized, fast-growing tree has edible seeds which apparently taste like chestnuts or cashews when roasted. We can’t wait to sample them for ourselves over the next few years as the trees mature. |
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Potager working bees: 8.30-10.30am, Wednesday & Saturday (8-10am summer)
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In the KITCHEN GARDEN, these handsome ‘Red Giant’ mustard greens were initially grown as part of a ‘biofume’ crop to help condition the soil between seasonal plantings. But we love the way they look – and they certainly add a hot bite to any salad. In the background, you can see a patch of kohlrabi developing well. Root crops like turnips and beets are another tasty feature of our winter plantings. |
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Peas grow fast once they germinate, and these snow peas sown in early May are already offering their flowers to the bees. The sugar snap varieties were slower to get started but after several attempts at re-planting they are off and running. We’re looking forward to plenty of sweet and crunchy legumes over the next few months. |
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No, that is not a bowling ball, but one of two ‘Sugar Baby’ watermelons harvested in June. Watermelon is not usually a winter crop but we planted it late, in December, as a bit of an experiment. It took nearly six months to fruit over the cooler months, compared to the expected 3-4 months, but the result was still deliciously sweet and juicy. We’ll try it again with an earlier start next year. |
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Kitchen garden working bees: 3-5pm Sunday (4-6pm in summer)
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In the BUSH FOOD GARDEN, new plantings include this ruby saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa), a low shrub which will bear small edible berries. Its leaves are edible too, but are rich in oxalates so need to be cooked first. The garden also hosts a more established old man saltbush (Atriplex nummularia) whose salty grey-green leaves are rich in protein, antioxidants and minerals. Find out more, including recipes. |
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The sandpaper fig has produced a good crop of gradually ripening fruit (if you spy one that’s dark purple/brown, give it a try; they’re quite delicious). Another of our trees, the burdekin plum, suffered from the cold snap that followed weeks of rain in June and the upper branches are dying off. However, there are hopeful green shoots around the trunk and lower branches. Fingers crossed it may recover in spring. |
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Following on from the successful riberry harvest in December, our second lilly pilly variety, ‘Resilience’, has just finished producing berries, and several pots of jam were made (recipe here) and enthusiastically sampled. The bush is near the corner of the garden against the fence, and there may still be a few berries ripening, especially on the sunny (park) side. They’re tangy and delicious so give them a try if you find one. |
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Bush food garden working bees: As required but usually Sunday afternoons.
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CLOSE UP – WHAT’S THAT PLANT?
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Focusing on the wonderful things you see in the garden if you look closely enough.
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INTRODUCING SHISO The ‘People’s Bed’ along the fence hosts many familiar herbs, including parsley, coriander, basil, sage, chives, rosemary, oregano, thyme and tarragon. But you may not recognise the larger shrub towards the centre of the bed. This is a ruffled green variety of the Japanese herb shiso (Perilla frutescens var. crispa), related to Korean perilla. |
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Shiso has a complex, unique flavour. According to this useful overview on the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food site, “[Shiso leaves] contain an amazing number of aromatic compounds, including limonene, which gives a citrus flavour, compounds also found in mint and basil, and others that smell like almonds, wood and honeysuckle.”
Why not give it a try next time you’re passing the garden? |
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Here are a few ways you might like to use it: in a salad with grapefruit, fennel and avocado, or sprinkled on half an avocado; as a pesto base; as a garnish with sushi or sashimi; as a topping for pasta and pizza, or to flavour fried rice. More ideas here and here. We also have a red/purple variety but the plant was severely pruned recently so you’ll have to wait a bit to try that. |
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APPRECIATING THE LOCALSWe’re very grateful to Cathy Zhang, founder and tea master of Ms Cattea Tea Bar, for joining us in the garden on 4 August to share her knowledge at our next social event. If you haven’t yet discovered Ms Cattea Tea Bar, do yourself a favour and drop in for a visit. Not only will you find hundreds of carefully curated specialty teas to sample, but also a range of unique experiences, from tea tasting classes and workshops, to aromatic tea-based cocktails and wonton dinners. Shop 17/1-21 Darlinghurst Road (near ‘A Date with Mabel’ between Llankelly Lane and Macleay Street). Find out more.
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“The warm aroma of oolong tea swirled in the air, its floral notes mingling with the soft sound of traditional Chinese music. Cathy smiled, her fingers tracing the smooth curve of a ceramic teapot. This was her world, a space where the rich history of tea met the simple joy of a shared cup.” From the Ms Cattea website |
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STAY IN TOUCHIn between newsletters, follow us on Instagram, or stay in touch via our various WhatsApp groups. These are intended for practical communications between members about things like rosters or working bees. But they’re also great for sharing photos or useful resources you’ve come across. Let us know if you’re a member and would like to be added to these groups. And don’t forget, there are working bees on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8.30am (potager garden), and on Sundays from 3pm (kitchen and bushfood gardens). Hope to see you in the garden!
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