Creative Harvest 2019

CREATIVE HARVEST … There’s an artist in my food garden

Sponsored by Trafalgar & District Community Branch of the Bendigo Bank. We would like to thank them for their continued support for 2019.

Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 January 2019 10 am – 4 pm

Saturday bus tour

Sunday bus tour

Cost is $5 a garden, or $20 for 5 gardens, and can be bought at any garden open over the weekend of 19th and 20th of January 2019.

Or register for one (or both) of our special bus tours by clicking the links above.

Following the success of our inaugural Creative Harvest event last year, where Food Gardens were open to the public and artists demonstrated and sold their work in the gardens, we are preparing to run the event again this year.

Productive and inspirational food gardens in West Gippsland are opening to the public and teaming up with local artists to showcase their work as well.

The event is designed to show people gardens that grow food well so they can learn from the experiences of others. It’s a great opportunity to meet like-minded people to share ideas. The gardens range from suburban house backyards to large acreages with plenty of room for lots of fruit and vegetables. They also include community gardens and organic commercial enterprises.

The gardens will feature working artists with their art work for sale. The arts include painting, textiles, mosaics, macramé, jewellery making and a children’s author.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE GARDEN ROUTE AND GOOGLE MAP LINKS

Please scroll down to see full garden descriptions:

You can find the Garden movies HERE Please just click on the movie you would like to see and the garden photos will rotate through for you.

You can find the Artist Descriptions and their photos/videos HERE

GARDEN DESCRIPTIONS:

LESLEY & GEOFF'S GARDEN:

270 Coster Rd, Modella

This mature attractive garden set amongst farmland has been planted extensively over 25 years. Two orchards and many vegetable beds provide an abundance of food, the excess being preserved, sold or given away. Raised vegetable beds are made from recycled and natural materials and the smaller orchard is underplanted with vegetables and nasturtiums. All this is fertilized with nettle tea, made in large quantities on site and is mulched heavily with straw. Unusual plants include finger limes, a buddhas hand citrus, 45 macadamia trees and a large collection of approximately 150 salvias. There are free range hens, a few sheep, bee hives and a dam for wildlife.

Artists: Helen Timbury, Linocut Printing - Sunday, Helen Fox & Dot Thorne, Mosaics  

MARG'S GARDEN:

17 Francis Ave, Drouin (enter Ave. opp Bennett St)

Marg's Garden is a hidden 3/4 acre treasure right in the middle of town.

A small espalier orchard with some vegies growing underneath runs down one side of the block and the vegie garden is all raised beds. During the spring when all the beds rapidly fill, Marg plants around the Citrus trees. Under the clothes line is the herb garden, so linen always smells fresh. A large strawberry patch and some raspberries close to the path allowing for easy picking. There is an ornamental garden with some herbs, and a small pond near the house. Marg preserves excess harvest and is an inventive cook.

Artists: Joan Best, Textiles

YVONNE'S GARDEN:

Cnr Bowen St & Jasmine Court, Warragul (entry on Bowen St)

A rainbow of colours in flowers and a harvest of fruit and veggie heaven.......no not from the expansive orchard of my previous farm garden of NE Victoria but my pocket handkerchief garden in Warragul Based on Peter Cundgel’s no dig rotating four bed concept, measuring roughly 9m x 2m, this suburban veggie patch is designed to provide plenty for one person. Seasonal vegetables, herbs, lettuce, spinach etc grow all year round, and there are plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers for relish and pickling. Espaliered fruit and citrus trees embroider fences with luscious apples, plums and oranges. The compact floral garden gives me both native nose gays for friends, elegant irises, roses and peonies for indoors and always a plant or cutting to give away.

Artists: Joan Bognuda (Sat) & Marg Koopmans (Sun), Water Colourists  

EASTERN PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN:

Cambridge Drive, Warragul

This half acre garden was entirely built by volunteers throughout 2014. It offers the opportunity for all people from Baw Baw Shire to come together in a cooperative community garden to plant, grow and harvest food, where knowledge and skills are shared, friendships are made, where people from different backgrounds, and of different ages and abilities come together to create community.

It has a beautiful array of plants and art works that shows how a productive garden can blend ornamental and edible plants with creative art pieces.

Run by volunteers, it offers programs and workshops to many groups in the community, teaching skills in propagation, horticulture, urban agriculture and promoting sustainability.

Artists: Graham Duell, Portraits & Kay Lancashire (Sun), Wearable Art.  

REstore:

79 Princes Highway, Yarragon

The Baw Baw Sustainability Network’s demonstration garden is set behind Fozzigobbles Café and is planted and maintained by volunteers from the group. Following permaculture principles, it features wicking beds, a herb spiral, a mandala garden, chooks, aquaponics and a poly tunnel where plants are propagated for the garden and for sale on site. It is very popular with café visitors who wander through while waiting for their coffee or meal. Produce from the garden is used in the café and the excess sold for the BBSN. Entry by donation.

Artists: Angela Betheras, SAORI Weaving & Cassie Fleg, Macrame

AROUND THE MULBERRY TREE:

51 Princes Hwy, Trafalgar

This attractive garden is set amid established trees with the food plants integrated into the design of the garden. Recycled materials are used for construction and sustainable management practices are used including wicking beds, fruit trees (including espaliers), berry house, chooks, shiitake mushrooms, composting, worm farm and greenhouse. A new addition of a kitchen garden has herbs and a Mediterranean foods focus.

Artists: Kate Richardson & Cathy Smith (Sun). Elizabeth Smoorenburg (Sun), Mosaics

BINGARA:

841 Yarragon Sth Rd, Trafalgar South

This two acre garden has a large orchard with citrus, apples, pears, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, loganberries, passionfruit, kiwifruit and hazelnuts. The raised vegetable beds produce crops that reflect the seasons and keep the household well supplied. Compost for the garden is made from kitchen scraps, weeds, grass clippings, cardboard and paper waste plus the used litter from the chook pen. Extensive lawns and trees and flower beds filled with roses and perennials make this a very attractive garden. It is set beside natural bush and a boardwalk runs alongside a spring-fed creek with tree-ferns and young Myrtle Beeches. The garden includes a variety of less common and rare plants.

Artists: Jan Mathieson, Paintings & Barb Gogerly, Mosaics

THREE SPRINGS:

28 Hume Rd, Trafalgar South (Saturday only)

This Trafalgar South garden is a young food garden, mostly being planted over the previous three years. Being a diverse mixture of fruit, vegetables and herbs, the intention is to provide as much of the family of four’s food requirements as possible. The berries are the most advanced, followed by numerous fruit trees and vegetables planted with the seasons. Fertilised with manure from the house cow and chickens, the garden is based on organic principles with dolomite lime being the most used additive. The produce is preserved by various methods including bottling and canning in order to spread the harvest over the whole year. Although south facing, the garden has been successful in making the most of the challenging aspect. This garden exemplifies the possibilities of growing your own food for the beginner or the most experienced gardener.

Artist: Barbara Twining, Felting

THE BATES HOMESTEAD:

2728 McDonald's Track, Childers

Ours is a garden on our rented property on a quarter acre surrounded by farmland. This is our fourth set up of edible food gardens. Each one has been based on permaculture principles and has used different methods depending on what works best for the landscape and climate. Currently we are using a long row of mounded garden beds and a series of round garden beds to fit in with our chicken tractor system to grow vegetables. We also keep bees naturally in Kenyan Top Bar bee hives, that we make and sell. Our chickens live in our tractor system and also free range. A pond provides water for the bees and grows water plants and fish. Previous gardens have had wicking beds, swales and potted fruit trees. We use open pollinated varieties so that we can save seeds, preserve our excess harvest through drying, bottling and freezing, and when the sun comes out, cook using our solar oven.

Artists: Helen Elizabeth, Textiles and Painting

JACI'S GARDEN:

32 Giles St, Mirboo North

A kitchen garden built from scratch over the last ten years, purposely for use in the food studio at the front of the property. Inbuilt watering system, raised garden beds, ideas on dealing with commercial food waste, reduction and recycling, glasshouse, chickens and compositing. Everything in Jaci’s kitchen garden has been planted over that period is either eatable or a companion plant for the garden. See how much food can be generated out of a ¾ acre house block in Mirboo North

Artists: Wendy Hitchins (Sun), Jewellery & Gaetana Cummaudo, Street Photography

HYGGE:

21 Glenbrook Place, Willow Grove

A brand new garden on the shores of Blue Rock Dam is an inspiration for new home owners. Hannah downsized from a large garden to this newly built house and has created a flourishing garden in just over a year. Stone, wood, gravel and mulch form the built structures and ground covers and a mix of natives, succulents and perennials are growing quickly. A large raised garden bed grows more than enough vegetables for one, and plenty to give away and a bed of raspberries is fruiting well. All kitchen waste is processed in a bokashi composting system which fertilizes the food plants. In this garden you not only find a watery view but owls, mirror pond, framed statue, Kongwak art, beehive, insect hotel, home made stools, no pruning no watering shrubs, etc it's all fun and gets your imagination stimulated.

Artist: Alene Bonser, Mosaics

BAW BAW ORGANICS:

65 Mt Baw Baw Tourist Rd, Piedmont

Liz, Wally & Lisa have been farming beside the Latrobe River at Piedmont for the last 35 years. The property has been certified organic since 1992 and they grow a wide range of berries, fruit and vegetables which are sold in Melbourne Farmer’s markets

A kitchen garden beside the house is a permaculture polyculture garden with tree crops, avocados, berries and fresh vegies.

Artists: Janet Wyllie, Mosaics & Spider Lee, Children’s Author & Illustrator

EDEN HILL GARDEN:

2637 Willow Grove Rd, Hill End

A range of organic vegetables and vegetable seedlings are grown on this 20 acre farm. Their vegetable seedlings are sold at local markets. They are continually working on improving their soil fertility and structure and production techniques.

This farm uses modern, old fashioned and alternative methods to be constantly tried for better results. Go with an open mind as it is difficult to put a description of it into a nutshell. It’s real, life-as-it-is, work always in progress, organic to the nth degree, honest, kindness in abundance, a blend of nature and people.

Artists: Liz Bowley, Painting. (Sat)