Updates, updates

Wow I have so much to tell you! Where to begin?

We held the first Garden workshop at the weekend on the 22^nd April to coincide with World Earth Day. Leo Bakx was our guest speaker and held 2 sessions teaching the participants all about Permaculture. A fascinating subject all about marrying people to their environment and sustainable agriculture practices. The aim of the course was to give people the tools they needed to create their own vegetable garden and start to grow some of their own food. As an additional helping hand we gave away small starter kits with seeds as a thank you for attending the course. Feedback was very positive and as Leo will be on island for a few more months we will probably hold another workshop before he leaves.

As I probably mentioned before we have been working on a major reforestation project funded by Usona to propagate some 4000 plants and trees on the island. As part of that initiative we have been at the LVV meat sale allowing the general public to take home some plants in exchange for a small donation. It was very successful and in 2 sales we have off-loaded around 200 plants to people who will be planting them in their gardens and neighbourhoods all over the island. We are also planning a large reforestation event on June 5^th this year to coincide with world environment day so I will keep you posted on the details as it develops.

At the garden we have been very busy. All areas of the garden are looking good and are under control… woo hooo!! We have been suffering a little lately from a lack of rain… about 3 months now with hardly any significant downpours. But last weekend we had one good rainy day and as if by magic the garden’s flowers and trees have come alive. The Almond in the sensory garden that lost ALL it’s leaves has exploded with a batch of fresh foliage and the Purple Wreath growing over the touch arbour looks resplendent with long dripping stems of stunning violet flowers. The Queen Emma lilies are putting out their lovely flowers as well and everywhere you walk there is their gorgeous scent. Feels like spring-time!

The Children’s Garden pavilion work has been completed and we now have (for the first time in 3 year) fully functioning guttering allowing all the rainwater from the roof to be collected in the cistern beneath! Course all we need now is some rain! The pumps have been ordered as well and so within a few months I am hoping to have the materials for an irrigation system for the Fruit garden and the Children’s garden which will allow us to plant the final fruit trees and complete the Phase 2 section of the garden at long last!

We have also started to re-paint the celling, this the second and final coat of white paint that we need to do. We decided to do this now so that we can them re-paint the floor and not get big sploges of white paint all over a newly painted floor! I’m not the most careful painter the in world! It’s looking really good and when I compare it to the condition it was in before, it’s quite a change! When it’s all completed it will look like new.

So as you can see… I’m a little bit busy at the moment… and since Lexie and Sadie my two interns left at the end of last month I have been all alone and having to do all the crud I normally fob off on my intern myself! It’s just no good man! My arms feel like they are going to fall off from all the weedwhacking and I spent last Friday bagging up about 100 different individual bags of seeds for the workshop give-aways! Don’t feel too sorry for me though guys I have a new Intern/victim arriving next week! Hee hee

Much love from the garden on the golden rock!

Ps enjoy the pics



Sorting out the seeds for the workshop give-aways - I love seeds!


Books on permaculture set up in the pavilion for the workshop


Leo (red shirt) explaining to the participants about different kinds of soils and testing the PH levels.



Progress on the roof of the pavilion going well (despite the fact that I'm too scared to get up the long ladder!)

The reforestation plants at the bi-weekly meat sale at the slaughter house.