Ciao Laura!



Luckily they were thornless blackberries

Our latest helper was Laura from Italy. She is spending about 3 months in Australia and chose to spend the Melbourne leg of the trip with us.

Laura is studying landscape design and we took her to "Alowyn Gardens" near Yarra Glen, which has been developed by some friends Prue and John Van de Linde, whom we met soon after Black Saturday. Have a look at the photographs of their beautiful gardens on their web page, http://www.alowyngardens.com.au . It was our first visit to their garden and it was amazing, especially considering they only started creating them around 12 years ago. The gardens are well worth a visit if you are in the Yarra Valley area on a weekend.

Shall I go in again?

Whilst here, Laura experienced one of Melbourne’s heatwaves, so we mainly worked in the mornings and took it easy in the afternoons. We found our hammock and set it up near the dam for R & R. This gave Laura a chance to meet some of the local bull ants, but sensibly she kept her distance, because they can give a nasty bite if they get annoyed. All of us (including the dog) spent one afternoon cooling off in the dam- it was very refreshing.

On the Saturday, Laura helped set up our stall at the Healesville Organic Farmers’ Market and then we dropped her off at Healesville Sanctuary for a chance to catch a glimpse of our famous native Aussie animals.

Take that... and that... and that

Laura helped weed and thin out the carrots, weeded other areas, helped with watering, did some fire prevention work and house work, harvested blackberries, took our dog Blue for walks and joined in cooking meals..... a  few yummy recipes were swapped.
It was such a pleasure working with Laura. As we toiled away, we chatted and laughed, sharing many thoughts on how people could become more sustainable in their ways of life.

Laura and Blue have a break

Whilst on the internet, Laura found a youtube clip that she wanted to share with us called, “A Subversive Plot: How to Grow a Revolution in Your Own Backyard”. This short video by the founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International examines the urgent need to re-localise the global food supply, in a very entertaining and informative manner. The web address is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezuz_-eZTMI . We were very glad that we saw it. Much food for thought (pun intended).

Ciao Laura

We feel really privileged to have people like Laura come here.....there is a sharing of cultures and we learn from each other.  It was a pleasure meeting her and we wish her all the best on her adventures in Australia and when she returns home. Ciao Laura, hope we meet again.