Autumn and gardens

The weather has turned to Autumn, and Hebe, a minor goddess from the Ballarat Gardens seems to be offering some more refreshing rain. Ninety millilitres! (I do know that Hebe is not a water bearer but in Ballarat she can offer nothing better).

This Sunday past Slow Food Ballarat had a Harvest Lunch at the Buninyong Botanical Gardens. All the food was cooked by the Slow Food volunteers. (Yin and I have been with SF Ballarat since it started, since we fancy saving the world through eating.)

I won't go into the menu much, but it was all grown locally from the flour to the yabbies to the blueberries and cobnuts.

This is part of the display of Grinders farm, out at Dunnstown under Mt Warrenheip, just fifteen minutes away. Garlic, gourds, multiple varieties of potatoes and of autumn fruit.
All the mineral water and wine was from our region and the coffee came from a village cooperative in Niugini. It was imported by my neighbour, who is from the coffee-growing village, but who grew up to marry a Ballarat woman - so it's sort of local coffee.

600 people were fed. I was just on gates and free water, but Yin boldly eschewed (love that word!) Chinese cuisine and cooked 600 blueberry, cobnut and cinnamon muffins with Jo. He can no longer claim that he does not cook cakes.

This is the 150th year since these beautiful gardens were planted. The recent heavy rain brought the grass back plush and green, and filled the waterways and pond.

The bowling club was full of happy bowlers who completely ignored the wine, food and acapella singers around them.

And here is one more staue from the Ballarat Botanical Gardens - Summer, about to stride stolidly off, leaving us to enjoy the harvest.

PS. I added a link to the Buninyong website and found a picture of me on the farmers' market page. Fame at last!