Luscombe Street Community Garden

Not quite a year ago, I chanced upon a lively street festival in a small street off Lygon Street. Bands were playing in a vacant block, which also had garden boxes full of the last summer vegetables growing in them. The festival was called Hot Diggity, and today it was on again. Only this time, there was a little street market and I had a stall there.

I had my usual kind of stuff, unwanted treasures and old clothes. And as usual, I left with not much profit, but having had a lot of fun, chatting, listening to the music and taking pictures. This mirror broke not long after I had photographed myself in it, but I think that had more to do with a gust of wind than any powers I might have.






The visitors to the street festival were not really looking for bargains as avidly as the regulars at the Camberwell Market;  they were coming for the music, the company and the Brunswick beer.

In the past year, we have had some small involvement with the folk from the Luscombe Street Community Garden and I am full of admiration for their organising skills and commitment to local food growing and working together. One of the other stall holders remarked to me today: “it is such a pity that the future of the vacant block is in doubt, it will probably soon be developed, and what will the garden do then?” I answered it is like life, you don’t know how long you have ahead of you, what they have done so far is amazing and worthwhile, no matter if the future is long term, five years or only one. They have created and tended a garden and friendships.