Thirst Quencher

We haven't had much rain to speak of for months. Our summer this year was very dry and that's when we normally get the bulk of our year's rain. But now, 4 days into our official winter, it isn't just raining - it's an "event" according to the media. It's been pouring steadily in Brisbane since last night and is forecast to continue throughout the day delivering totals of between 100 and 200 mls. My plants will be happy!

May Theme Day: Smell

Living in the city, sometimes you need that extra boost in your garden. Late last year a group of us clubbed together to get a truck load of the most rotten, stinking manure you can imagine delivered from the farm to my door. It worked out at A$3 per bag which is a bargain! This was one of the bags that wasn't crawling with maggots - the farmer proudly told me that it was from the bottom of the pile and as stinky and rotten as I was going to get. The garden LOVED it!

Check out other posts for today's City Daily Photo theme here.

Epicurious

Epicurious is the name of the edible garden in South Bank. It's great to see what grows well in our city - so much, apparently! - although as a struggling vegetable gardener it makes me feel a bit inadequate. Volunteers are here every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings 7-11.30am to hand out gardening advice and hand out the harvest too - free! Yes, I'll have to set my alarm and bring a bag next time.
By the way those are a couple of Segway riders in the background. You can now hire them and tear along the path by the river scaring the wits out of the tourists. Alternatively you can just watch people riding them and laugh. Either way - great fun!

What I like about 'tu'.

One of the things I love about growing turmeric in Brisbane is that for several months of the year it hides away. The only sign it's there is when you dig underground and find the orange root which looks a bit like ginger or galangal and is excellent grated on just about anything. Then, in spring, tiny green spears poke through the soil for what seems like only a moment before they shoot upwards and unfurl these huge thick leaves. After a season or two you start getting the flowers which, as you can see, are really beautiful. But the BEST thing for me is that they seem to thrive with no attention whatsoever. My kind of plant.

My favourite recipe using turmeric at the moment is Parsi Scrambled Eggs. It's the breakfast of champions. Use the powder in the cooking and then grate the root over the top. Delicious!

P.S. Australians born in Australia tend to pronounce this plant/spice without the 'r' and with the 'tu' and in Tuesday. ie ' Tu-meric'. We all know that this is wrong and that the correct pronunciation is with the 'r' and the 'tur' as in 'turban': Turmeric. Feel free to argue with me but I know I am right.

Anyway to make the title work I've adopted the Aussie pronunciation.

Jane Street Community Garden

Jane Street Community Garden by Davies Park in West End is an established garden consisting of all sorts of herbs, vegetables, fruit and flowers. You can rent plots and join in the working bees, learn how to build an organic garden bed from scratch and pick up some great tips on growing local food. It's also just a beautiful place to stroll around. A few years ago when I was a person with time on my hands, I volunteered down here for a few weeks and helped build some new beds... and I got some great tips. After a hard morning's work, we all sat around and ate some of the food that we had picked.

Oh, The Flower And The Passion

Third time's a charm as far as my growing passionfruit goes. The other two attempts were pathetic and wilted within a month. This one is threatening to take over one whole side of the building, already covering two windows and the wall in between.

I've never got to the flower stage before so it's quite an event for me. They are so exotic looking and showy. The little red bits are some other struggling flower that is gasping for a bit of light and space but I fear isn't going to last much longer. But there's no way I'm cutting back the passionfruit plant to make room. Not until I get my first actual fruit.
Sometimes you've got to take the hardest line.

Red Flowering Ginger

All sorts of things are flowering in the garden right now but this one is the most spectacular. It's a member of the ginger family but I don't think the root is edible.

No Spicy, No Fun!

Ripe and juicy bird's eye chillies in my garden at the moment. They grow with gusto round here.