Outside the House - Day 1

There are those who preach the importance of incorporating the earth and nature among your living environment, and those who live it.  This house invigorates the dweller to immerse themself in the power of plants, to enjoy the beauty that is the physical world.

Over the past 18 months I've enjoyed watching this garden shape itself into a real concrete (brick, I should state) jungle, take note Marley fans.  Each visit to this garden presents something new for all of the senses; I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Driving along the road, or even searching for the place on Google Maps, the house is beginning to blend in harmoniously with the other organic elements around it.  Vines taking hold here and grass finding it's way there, the brick frame may one day only be visible from inside the house.

Above and below (is a better view) are images of native wisteria the gardener expects to amaze us all soon with its beautiful flowers.  I've also read that this vine grows rapidly, needs ample support to bear its weight, and requires great drainage.  Check, check, and check; this side of the Z House has it all.

This giant species of Java Black Bamboo is already living up to expectations and towering over the house after just a few years.  Any other variety simply wouldn't have created the emphatic statement these culms do; massive black poles soaring into the sky.

So far you've seen the southern and eastern sides to this house's 'exterior' gardens.  This one's going to have to be continued over multiple days, or you'll end up looking through quite a long photo album all at once.  Stay tuned for a better understanding of what I mean putting 'exterior' in quotes, tomorrow we go 'inside'...

If your appetite wants more, start enjoying the flowers around town.

What's For Dinner?

I've used this title for a post before, but after harvesting some things from the garden to prepare for dinner tonight, I had the idea for a new series...What's For Dinner?

Here's what's going in to tonight's dinner...
- snow peas
- rosemary
- cherry tomatoes
- silverbeet
- kale (red russian)
- radishes

Z House: Flowers

Amongst all of the beauty at this house are some flowers that I've enjoyed capturing through a lens.

Some of these flowers have been added by the gardener over time, as he collects new seeds and clippings along his journeys.

Everything else is the work of garden designer Steven Clegg.

UPDATE

Monday 30 September, 2013

This past weekend I was able to spend some more time at the Z House admiring the beauty abound. When we first arrived, the Hippeastrums were still waiting to show their true colors.  Luckily they really opened up before we left.

Another beautiful variety in this garden is Clivia, also a flowering plant from southern Africa...

(FIRST POST)

The Living Earth Festival

Living in a community of individuals who put food first has been a motivating factor for me since moving to the Byron Shire.  The Mullumbimby Community Garden is a testament to that notion, and a prime example of how a vision and determination can create incredible things.  Welcome to one of the greatest places on earth...

The Living Earth Festival, put on by the Community Garden, took place on the first day of Spring (Sunday 1 September).  Entry by gold coin donation meant some funding for the gardeners but also easy access for the entire community...the crowds were huge.  Two keynote speakers joined the festivities: Costa Georgiadis and Jerry Coleby-Williams.

The start of the Festival began with a Street Parade; here are some of the vehicles that took part...

For anyone who is not familiar with @LockTheGate, they're a "national alliance campaigning for healthy communities and protection of our land and water resources from inappropriate coal and unconventional gas development".  Below is the Wishing Web with hundreds of messages shared by like-minded individuals who want a cleaner and greener future for all.

Add More Green certainly couldn't miss out on spreading the good word...

Bush Tucker; native plants and animals used for cooking or medicine.  The bushfood walk here doesn't contain any of the fauna (kangaroo or emu) but has plenty of native plants to snack on while you're perusing the garden.

A wonderful view from the gardens of Mt. Chincogan...the crow flies ten kilometres northwest to where I live.

After working on a design for a hemp-based vehicle while at Babson (in 2011), I've been fascinated by hemp design and development.  Below is a display set up at the Festival with information on building hemp-based affordable housing.  Hempcrete is a hemp and lime mixture that forms a lightweight yet strong building material.

The first day of Spring was shared by many local gardeners who as Costa mentioned form a community that puts food first.  That's exactly what Add More Green is looking to share with others...a community of changemakers creating a sustainable future for each other.

Welcoming The New Guy

One of the most interesting facets of gardening for me is to witness and keep track of which seeds and seedlings take care of themselves, and which ones you have to struggle with to keep alive.  Sowing seeds directly into my garden has had many different success levels.  Using @Mr_Fothergills has even had mixed outcomes; but by far the best producing organic seed from the best Australian seed provider has been radishes.  And finally, after just four weeks of growing (we've had an incredibly mild, dare I say hot, winter Down Under)...my first radish appears.

Beneath my harvest you'll see just one small bunch of them still left in the ground.  After planting this first group, and realizing how well they were taking off in the garden, I decided to grow through the whole packet of seeds throughout different areas of the garden...looks like we'll be enjoying these for a while.  I separated the planting by about 2-3 weeks, as they take between 4-8 weeks before harvest and I didn't want to get a whole bunch at once, but rather enjoy them over a period of time.

This small chili pepper did really well until May, when I decided to harvest everything to start a collection of dried peppers...and finally we can see some new growth, flowers, and few small chilies scattered about.

Above: Kale and Silver beet, two staples in my cooking
and
Below: Rocket abound, we'll be enjoying this for a while as well...

A whole bunch of different varieties of tomatoes self-seeded the past few months, and they've survived shockingly well for this garden and climate.  We're just starting to enjoy the benefits.

And there you have it, the current state of affairs...

Grow Your Own: From Mint To Much More

Part of the concept of "Profitable Planting" is homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  Growing your own greens relieves some of the stress of going to the store to purchase all of your essentials, not just monetarily, but also the time it takes to go get mint for that wonderful cocktail you were planning to enjoy, etc.  Wherever I travel, I try to encourage my friends and family to utilize the extra space they have to start their own small herb garden, and that's exactly what I've done here in Paris for my friend Guy.

It started this past November when I came for a three month stay in Paris, and began growing mint (that was purchased) in water for two months to grow some roots.  In January, when I knew the mint was good and ready I brought it to Guy's for him to begin his garden.  As you can see, the collection has grown from there and the mint is still going strong!

Now his collection includes basil, mint, parsley, and yesterday we went to Leroy Merlin to get some additional soil and a chili pepper plant.

As you can see, the air and space around this herb garden is filled with light and more green!  Down below is a courtyard with palms and shrubs (unfortunately not native).

As you can see below, the basil needs some help.  Initially, the basil was planted in the same pot as a beautiful jasmine vine, but unfortunately the roots from the jasmine were suffocating those of the basil...until yesterday when I decided to add some life to Guy's garden by loosening up the soil a bit and adding some new life (and new soil) to the area of the pot that the basil is in.

It's green...but boy would this basil like to be in a veggie bed somewhere warm and sunny!  In any case, we've used these herbs the past few days in different recipes and there's nothing like the deliciousness of homegrown herbs!

Although the jasmine roots are long and invasive for the basil, the vine is currently flowering, so removing the plant simply was not an option...check out the pretty colors!

This small herb garden started just a few months ago (during a cold and wet winter here in Paris), and since then has grown into something great that Guy is able to use on a daily basis.  It's never too late to @addmoregreen and new life to the world around you!

UPDATE

Tuesday 10 September, 2013

As most Parisians do during the month of August, Guy escaped the city for some rest and relaxation.  While gone, most his garden had to suffer the consequences of no gardener.  But, one strong survivor emerged...

Sustainable Singapore

On my recent transit to Paris, I traveled through Changi Airport again and with a 20 hour layover I had no choice but to head downtown to spend the night.  From my last visit to Singapore, I already knew that this city is On The Right Track with its head screwed on tight and a vision towards the future with an understanding of how we must interact with the environment to prepare for the success of future generations.  Once again, I was pleased to see some things that caught my eye and screamed out #sustainability.

This first image, of the side of a delivery truck for mattresses, is a large display that can quickly attract the attention of many people.  Smiling faces are prone to catch the eye of passersby, whether live or on a display.  The message is simple, "Be wise and go green.  Now."  With a world of plants in his hand, this kid is telling us that being more environmentally friendly is as important as a good nights sleep.

This second image, a small green sign, was inside one of the countless bathrooms at Changi Airport.  The small plaque, which was placed above one of the hand dryers, had a simple message as well...STOP WASTING SO MUCH DAMN PAPER, IDIOTS!  One may argue the point that these hand dryers use electricity, but one would also be happy to know that Changi practices some great environmental initiatives that have been recognized internationally.  Travelling through Singapore seems to be a new habit of mine, now that I call Australia home, and I'm happy to take part in and support such a sustainable city.

Name That Vegetable

One of the beauties of composting is that you never know what seedlings and starts will perk up out of the soil on a daily basis.  Sometimes these volunteers are not so good for your veggie garden, like papaya or the rampant lemon grass (both better in the ground or lemon grass in a pot).  But sometimes you get surprised with wonderful veggies that addmoregreen.  Take this peculiar squash-like vegetable for example...

I added some of this greatness to the pizza I made tonight, the only issue is that I have no idea what the vegetable actually is.  When I initially let the volunteer take off, I thought the cotyledons resembled those of a cucumber...boy was I wrong!  So, I need some help on this one if anyone knows what vegetable this is...in any case it was delicious!