Artist enlivens compost bin

New compost bin, artist enhanced Paul and the bin, mates Compare the painted bin with its sister - what it used to look like . . . The compost bin painted by Graham Chalcroft is ‘in the house’. It’s a B E A Uty. Thanks so much, Graham. Paul and I put it in place today, near the corner of Rose and Myrtle.  Now we need to name it. Ideas, anyone? May the artists be with us, Michael  Read More

Terrific photos of the house

Lottie’s put some terrific photos of the house, chooks, bees and things up on her blog, here: aplaceaday.blogspot.com… Thanks, Lottie, may the photos be with you, Michael  Read More

Coogee community garden on the way

Coogee community gardeners, the design team and Mayor Matson Last Sunday we held a design workshop on the proposed community garden site along Dolphin Street, Coogee, about 400 metres from Coogee Beach. Beth Kalin, an architect in my office, had drawn up some concepts and Nathan Kelly, who is studying the sociology of food, met the Coogee locals on site where some gardening and conversations were had.  The Mayor of Randwick Council, Murray Matson, was there, too, and a fine discussion... Read More

Nuts n tough things in compost . . . do they go?

Elizabeth, who uses the road garden compost bins, emailed me, asking: Can I put these things in the composting bins? avocado seeds pistachio shells (and other nut shells) coffee grounds mango pips olive pips And, I answered, “Yes, all those can go in.” They take a while longer but they decay. And Council’s Helen Bradley, Senior Project Coordinator , Waste Services, who works with us on the bins every second Friday , said: “Yes as Michael mentioned... Read More

Waste doco that includes Chippo in Flickerfest

The new short film documentary, Waste Not, will have it’s world premier at the Flickerfest in Sydney in January and the programme guide on the festival web page says: ‘Waste Not Australia Directed By Ruth Hessey What keeps a 21st Century metropolis like Sydney clean and sparkling? Even as we hover on the brink of a monumental eco-catastrophe, an army of truck drivers, scientists, environmentalists, gardeners and even a famous chef are working to transform the mountains... Read More

Great road gardening last Friday – then comes the next day

Andres from Ecuador plants a tree: L to R: Xavier, Helen, Beth, Andres, Sarah, Harry, Michael Gardening today was sensational. There were ten of us a-road-gardening on Friday: Xavier (let’s put an “x” first for a change), Helen, Janet (who took this photo), Harry, Beth, Andres, Sarah (who comes all the way from Marrickville and is one hell of a quiet achiever). As Andres is returning home to Ecuador (well, he may get there via who knows where . . . ) we ended... Read More

Compost with pizzaz

Left to Right, Graham Chalcroft, Bin with pizzaz on the way, Michael This morning I went to visit Graham Chalcroft, the artist at Addison Road Centre, with Helen from the City Council. Graham’s putting the last coats and images on the bin and we’re hoping to receive it next week to put back on our road gardens. May the compost with pizzaz be with you, Michael  Read More

Some eyesong for the heart

Compost bin with heart n soul A bin to make you smile Some things sing to the heart through our eyes and, after a topsy turvy day as this has been so far, I’ve come to this computer to find something which through my eyes brings a little song to my little heart, that thing which bebops away somewhere. Graham Chalcroft’s work painting our old compost bin is full of life and promise, don’t you think? Good luck to it, and thanks Graham for your work so far.  Next... Read More

Mulch bin mulched

Mulcher and mulch bin Empty mulch bin Fresh mulch on road garden Yesterday a private mulching business came and mulched our road mulch free of charge. John from Treescapes (tel 9519 4790) donated his machinery, labour and his time to turn our bin of garden waste into mulch. In about 20 minutes we had the whole bin mulched and put around the road garden plants. John has said he’ll come back anytime to mulch our garden waste because he loves what we’re doing.  And... Read More

Composting art

Compost bin with undercoat Graham Chalcroft, an artist with a studio at Addison Road Gardens, has finished the first stage of his art project on one of our compost bins – the undercoat. Watch this space for Graham’s finished work – the compost bin as art; it’s going to be a bright beauty. M  Read More