Bass Coast Post
  • Home
    • Home May 6
  • Federal Election 2022
  • News
    • Point of view
    • View from the chamber
  • Writers
    • Anne Davie
    • Anne Heath Mennell
    • Bob Middleton
    • Carolyn Landon
    • Catherine Watson
    • Christine Grayden
    • Dick Wettenhall
    • Ed Thexton
    • Etsuko Yasunaga
    • Frank Coldebella
    • Gayle Marien
    • Geoff Ellis
    • Gill Heal
    • Harry Freeman
    • Ian Burns
    • Joan Woods
    • John Coldebella
    • Jordan Crugnale
    • Julie Statkus
    • Kit Sleeman
    • Laura Brearley >
      • Coastal Connections
    • Lauren Burns
    • Liane Arno
    • Linda Cuttriss
    • Linda Gordon
    • Lisa Schonberg
    • Liz Low
    • Marian Quigley
    • Mark Robertson
    • Mary Whelan
    • Meryl Brown Tobin
    • Michael Whelan
    • Mikhaela Barlow
    • Miriam Strickland
    • Natasha Williams-Novak
    • Neil Daly
    • Patsy Hunt
    • Pauline Wilkinson
    • Phil Wright
    • Robert Scott
    • Terri Allen
    • Tim Shannon
    • Zoe Geyer
  • Features
  • Bass Coast Prize
  • Arts
  • Local history
  • Environment
  • Special interest
    • Birdwatching >
      • Birdwatching
    • Cooking with Pip
    • Foreign Correspondent
    • From the pantry
    • Gardening
  • Comments
  • Community
    • Diary
    • Courses
    • Groups
  • Contact us

A feast of good gardening

24/2/2022

5 Comments

 
Picture
Helen Searle welcomed visitors to her South Dudley garden.
By Maddy Harford
 
Mary, Mary extraordinary
How does your garden grow?
With espaliered fruit trees, chooks and herbs 
And tomato plants all in a row!
 
Mary's garden in San Remo was one of 15 gardens open to visitors last weekend in the inaugural Bass Coast Edible Gardens Festival.
More than 400 people visited one or more gardens, well beyond our expectations. Several of the gardens closer to town hosted more than 200 visitors over the two days. An easy of COVID restrictions and perfect weather certainly helped.

The festival was co-ordinated and curated by Bass Coast Adult Learning (BCAL) and hosted by local gardeners.

 
The response has revealed a widespread interest in edible gardening and a need to gather and share information about how to improve production.
 
Although the vast majority of visitors were locals (ie. from Bass Coast and surrounding shires), there was a significant contingent from a range of Melbourne suburbs, some of whom booked overnight stays, to allow a leisurely pace for exploring Bass Coast’s gardens.
 
BCAL intends this to be the first of an annual event.  In the meantime, we’ll be holding a series of gardening workshops, such as composting, pruning, wicking beds, food processing and bottling.
 
BCAL chair Maddy Harford was one of the organisers of the Bass Coast Edible Gardens Festival.
Picture
Jessica Harrison and Richard Kentwell welcomed visitors to the Harvest Centre community garden in Wonthaggi.
Picture
Ollie and Mike Wellings mix fruit and vegetables with natives and beautiful flowers in their Inverloch garden.
Picture
Ryan Cassano, Katherine Beggs, Fiona Beggs and Phil Beggs had lots of questions from Diana about her Kongwak garden.
5 Comments
Barbara Moje
25/2/2022 11:32:02 am

I really hope this event will happen every year from now on! Missed it this time, sadly .

Reply
Wendy Davies
25/2/2022 04:45:26 pm

We loved the gardens, and met an intrepid lady who had been to every one. We discovered scarlet runner beans (thanks Penny and Dianne) and marveled at the historic old trees and plants in Bass.

Reply
Linda
27/2/2022 12:44:34 pm

Would have loved to have gone, but not prepared to put poison in my body to attend, lets hope it changes next year. Why segregation especially for outdoor events? just ridiculous, considering I can still shop indoors!!

Reply
Catherine Watson, Editor
27/2/2022 06:57:14 pm

Hi Linda. If you're referring to vaccines, there was no requirement to be vaccinated to visit the open gardens.

Reply
Linda
27/2/2022 06:58:55 pm

Catherine, I had no idea, I thought I saw it somewhere when I looked at booking, oh well next time, thank you for replying.




Leave a Reply.