The first draft of the garden design

I have uploaded Lisa's "ugly stage" layout... just click on the image to see it in real size. If you are able to it would help to leave your comments and suggestions in the comment area of this posting ... it just saves on lots of emails in our inboxes.

Thanks so much Lisa for your work on this.

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As promised I am posting some of the photos Noah and I took at the Marrickville West Community Garden a couple of weekends ago. One thing the organisers said to us was that it is CRUCIAL to get the size of the garden plots right from the very beginning - our very success depends on it!! They think theirs are too small... I'd say most are about 1x2m. The community garden in Ringwood, Vic is very big - it has over 100 plots (10m x 3m), a shed and a greenhouse on the 1.5 acres (0.6 hectare).   So plot size should probably be top-most in your minds when you look at Lisa's design.

This photo shows that Marrickville has a cyclone wire fence like the one we will probably get but it doesn't look like a concentration camp thanks to vines (passionfruit) and planting underneath. Also, they have a nice crop of peas coming on :)

An example of some wooden raised garden beds. Note the paths are simply covered in wood mulch.

One of the semi-circular communal garden beds. This one is located right next to the BBQ area.

They had a very good system on putting updated signs on each of the compost bins. We need these!

A general shot of the garden with hardworking Marackville gardener in the foreground and young, practically no-use-at-all-in-the-garden Niamh in the background :)

Noah and I are going to the Randwick Organic Community Garden working bee this Sunday (September 20) from 4pm to 6pm. If anyone else wants to come along (and Lisa has already said she will!) let us know so that I can write and let them know how many of us to expect. From our Marrickville experience I can tell you that it is worth the trip - it's fantastic to see what other gardens are doing and you come away very inspired.

Randwick Community Garden can be found at the northern end of Paine Reserve. It is a 1080 square metre fenced area that has combined community garden areas with allotments. Members aim to use organic principles, including natural pest and disease management, use of organic seeds and natural fertilisers.

"Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw." - Henry David Thoreau