At this Brisbane library you can pick up some fresh produce from the librarians when you borrow books. What a fabulous idea!
In this 5 minute film, come on a little tour with me of this public edible landscape to explore the abundance that can be grown in a compact public edible garden – a garden that is open and accessible to all.
Local community members work together to create this delightful community space and produce fresh herbs, fruit, flowers and perennial vegetables that are freely available from the library counter when you borrow books.
The garden also provides scissors and bags at the entrance should you wish to take cuttings of plants to propagate in your own garden. Wonderful!
Hats off to this group. They are creating a delightful space and a valuable community service. Well done to the Brisbane City Council too.
I visited this edible library garden again during recent school holidays. I was leading an eco-art workshop there for children about patterns in nature. I filled the room with edible plant materials and together we explored how patterns connect – how patterns can be seen at a micro level, in our bodies, in plant forms, in land forms, in the stars and in patterns of behaviour and growth.
I visited this edible library garden again during recent school holidays. I was leading an eco-art workshop there for children about patterns in nature. I filled the room with edible plant materials and together we explored how patterns connect – how patterns can be seen at a micro level, in our bodies, in plant forms, in land forms, in the stars and in patterns of behaviour and growth.
The kids and I had such a great conversation that ranged from dinosaurs to space travel to growing food.
With their siblings and parents, the children created beautiful artworks using the plant materials, bamboo and string – temporary, compostable art imbued with patterns. What fun!
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| Beautiful natural patterns in Red Sorrel. |
Do you know of great public edible landscapes around you? I’d love to hear about where these are.
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| Library food forest. The red flowers here are the edible pineapple sage flowers with sweet nectar. |
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| Herbs, flowers, perennials – all edible. Worm towers too. |
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| Beautiful Basil – African Blue Basil |
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| Edible leguminous pioneer – Pigeon Pea |
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| Multifunctional Marigold – edible flowers, attracts beneficial insects |
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| Edible Okinawan Spinach |
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| Flowering Mexican Coriander |
Thank you!
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This is one of my local libraries and I visit it often. It's wonderful! I love seeing the garden, collecting a little bunch of herbs and flowers from the trolley inside, looking through the seed swap box and borrowing books too:) Meg
Yay! That's wonderful. Maybe we can ask Maleny Library to do something similar! Thanks Morag.
Tara