my first ever gardening australia expo!
since discovering "gardening hero" pete and his patch, i've been looking forward to seeing the reconstructed patch while getting a few more veggie tips and more inspiration on the way...
it was before 9:30am the opening time and there was a queue already... everybody in the GA team were at the door to meet and greet
since i was near the front, i went into an empty dome...
that was before the crowds came in 5 min later...there were succulent cuttings for sale at $2.5 a pop or $10 for 5... if i recall, last time when i got my cuttings at st ives showground, it cost me $1/cutting... but hey... this was a well publicised GA expo...
the variety was much larger than that of st ives' though...
but i didn't get any as i got distracted when i started to daydream about my future late night walks in the neighbourhood bearing a torch and scissors insearch for freebie cuttings...
then i came out of my daydream and got to the theatre... and the first lecture started - "inspiration for contained gardens" with meredith (review- i took notes and good $ saving tips which would involve future trips to ikea, and some vertical wall gardening)
then it was the star lecturer with "we can survive"
just look at the demographics!
similar to the stitiches and craftshow... with (abit) more men amongst the audience
note: the fans with their digital cameras / flashes / mobile cameras ie lady with plump wrist and camera, bottom right hand corner above...
pete was as enthusiatic as usual, but delivered abit of gloom and doom too - as he reckoned we would be entering an age of economic and environmental depression... the message was to get one's veggie patch up to scratch and be prepared for the worse!
jerry c-w's lecture was really informative in his " make your own organic pesticide" talk ... i couldn't write fast enough! all these homemade gardening remedies i can try out now...
and with the gymea lillies as the background... there was " creating a colourful cottage garden with native plants" with angus... too bad our back yard is too shady (thus could not put his suggestions into practice)
saving the best for last... was pete's patch...
the 6 little 4mx2m patches were recreated inside the expo...
it was very inspirational to not just see it on tele but in real life (although not the real thing, for that one would have to travel all the way to tassie)...
and the fans gathered again...
all in all a great day full of tips... not too dear (as i refrained myself from getting too much stuff - having a small trolley helped)...i managed to bagged this v cute organic gardener show bag filled with goodies for $10
this must the be the most beautiful environmentally friendly (BYOB) bag i own (now)!
the gardening gloves were freebies from the entry tix (ladies' only)and i also got some "air plants" - no soil required, just water spray once in a while... jane was talking about this on the last episode of GA when she was visiting the melbourne royal botanical garden's hothouse...
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