Yesterday was Thursday. Long term blog followers will know the day is always glorious if I am (we the Food Garden volunteers are) going to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (RTBG).  And we did. And it was.

Earlier in the day, from near home, I had taken a few photos of Mt Wellington in its crisp clear glory.

A few days ago fellow gardener R contacted us all and suggested we lunch together – albeit keeping our distance. And so it came about yesterday; six of us joined Food Garden Co-ordinator Adam.

We wandered around the garden marvelling at the autumn changes, the harvests to come, the garden beds with their flourishing plants, and with warmth and good humour we redeveloped our contacts with each other.

First up I noticed the pumpkin – perhaps 150 kgs now; two to three months ago it was so much smaller. Read more here.

The healthy beetroot plants.

Glossy silver beet, and Chinese broccoli.

A thriving lemonade tree; combination lemon and mandarin

The tall leafy plants of the Yakon and mulched asparagus garden.

Small balls of ripening kiwi fruit

The bobbles of Brussel Sprouts; okay bobbles isn’t a technical term!

Fresh new growth on the artichokes

Olives maturing; about a month before they can be ready for harvest.

The pears neatly espaliered.

The now established new lawned and planted area looked smart and welcoming.

We talked and walked with wide smiles and generous laughter. Then spread ourselves around as we settled on the boarded area near the Tool Shed and brought out our lunches and the foods we had brought to share.

The sun shone strongly and I realised I should have taken a sunhat rather than a beanie and should have slathered the sunscreen over my face. But I didn’t care. The life giving air emanating from the old trees and all the other healthy vegetation was totally revitalising. I welcomed the company of gardening friends not seen in over two months.

Would I do this again? Would we do it again?  The answer: in a flash same time, same place, next week … but subject to weather and virus circumstances.

I will leave you with this image of a colourful ‘carpet’ of the drops of leaves and berries on another fabulous day at the RTBG.