The Cullerne Gardens at Findhorn are just beautiful. They provide a bounty of vegetables, fruit and flowers for the community throughout the year and run off the work of the residents and volunteers.
Just before the dry poppies break open to release their seeds, they form the most delicate rattles.
A fare amount of growing takes place in tunnels to extend growing seasons beyond the short summer months. Even in summer the weather is temperamental at best.
These friendly guys where mowing and fertilising the fallow beds - they seemed to be enjoying the hard work.
The guest programme at Findhorn is interesting one. People pay quite a bit to stay there and work in the gardens, kitchens and grounds. A bit of a strange concept to think that people would pay to do manual labour but there is something about reconnecting with the soil, our food, each other and ourselves that people seem to be looking for. Interesting.
One of the many quirks of the place is that they name everything, including tools. The idea is that if something is personalised, it is treated as such. They believe this is a big reason why they keep their tools for much longer and replace things less often than other places.
Everything seems to love the sun when it makes its occasional appearance.
Fresh and colourful salad packets on their way to market.
Looking for... a committed volunteer. Slightly different from the residential volunteer programme, this one was looking for a volunteer in the gardens in exchange for educational credits, meal tickets and a "box of delicious organic vegetables". Something like the Community or Talent Exchange networks that are emerging across the world - building community based the exchange of talent and non-financial resources.
The place is as much about beauty and appreciation as it is about the work itself. A hammock under the trees for a nap after a morning of work in the sun, not bad.
An apple tree against the old house, one of a few beautiful spaces carrying wholesome food.
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