Community garden

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Seasons of Hope Garden
Name:
Seasons of Hope Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Croydon
Municipality:
Maroondah
Notes (in their own words):

This is a charity-owned garden with the express purpose of providing people in financial crisis with fresh produce.

Hope City Mission has partnered with Melbourne Water to construct this vegetable garden, which comprises 84 raised beds (2.4m x 1.2m each). It provides much needed fresh produce for the Hope City Mission foodbank program, which feeds around 80 families per week. In addition, they have a large greenhouse that they use to house their seedling propagation program, growing seeds to seedlings.

The garden also provides a place where the isolated can connect with others and have a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Volunteers are welcome to come and maintain the garden, with the preferred days being Monday, Wednesday, Thursday between the hours of 9am-3pm. Wednesday is the ideal day for volunteers as this is the day where all the action happens with picking produce ready to give out at Hope City Mission emergency food program on the Thursday.

There are regular working bees on most Wednesdays – please contact the office to confirm (9761 6778).

SEEDs Communal Garden
Name:
SEEDs Communal Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Brunswick
Municipality:
Merri-Bek
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is open to the public.

SEEDs is a communal garden where they grow and share together, growing natural networks, skills, mutual opportunities, friendships, organic food and community. There are no individual plots. The food that they grow is used to feed their weekly volunteers as well as a way to connect with our local community. They also donate regular harvests to The Local Kitchen Brunswick and share and cook their excesses. The garden is connected to, and shares the space with, Milparinka Disability day service. They aspire to be a connecting point and resource for their community.

There are regular working bees at the garden, every Monday and Thursday at 10am.

Slater Community Garden
Name:
Slater Community Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Blackburn North
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is allotment-based, for people who reside in, or pay rates to, the City of Whitehorse.

The garden was first established in 1982 and was one of the first community gardens in Melbourne.

It comprises around 50 individual plots plus a few communal areas for herbs. Each plot is around 35 square metres (e.g. 9 metres by 4 metres) but some have been divided into half plots. The total size of the garden is around 1 acre. Most of the plots are in-ground, with a few raised beds.

Collectively, the plot holders are culturally diverse, with the vegetables being grown therefore also being diverse.

There is some communal equipment, such as wheelbarrows and tools. There are also four large water tanks which are fed by the large roof of a nearby stadium (mains water is connected but only used if the tanks run dry).

The garden is one of two overseen by Nunawading Community Gardens, the other being Jolimont Community Garden in Forest Hill. The Nunawading Community Gardens committee is responsible for both setting overall policies (e.g. no pesticides or herbicides) and for maintenance of the communal areas (e.g. some of the pathways).

They have a number of get togethers each year, to which plot holders from both of the gardens are invited. They order various products in bulk for members to buy, including seed potatoes. They also hold regular working bees.

All plots are currently allocated and there is a waiting list. Read more about joining the waiting list and potentially apply. As of 2024, the cost of a plot is $30 pa (or $20 pa for half a plot) and the cost of being on the waiting list is $5 pa.

Span Community House Community Garden
Name:
Span Community House Community Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Thornbury
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is membership-based but membership is free.

What: The garden is a community shared space. There are no individual plots but produce is shared amongst those that attend, as well as used in the community lunch and cooking classes at Span. The garden is maintained with a watering system and by regular planting and harvesting. All produce is organic. The garden is a large space with a number of garden beds and areas producing vegetables, fruit and herbs. There is a shelter built with natural building techniques and materials that can be used for meetings or other activities, a propagation area, a seed and cuttings swap program, and a community mural. There are regular sustainability programs, classes and activities run throughout the year. The garden is access friendly for all.

Who: The garden is shared and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers and community members, with the assistance and support of Span Community House, and regular working bees. All those participating have differing levels of skills, experience and physical abilities. New community members and gardening beginners are invited and encouraged to join the garden group and participate in Span’s activities whilst learning and enjoying the company and support of other community members.

St Johns Riverside Community Garden
Name:
St Johns Riverside Community Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Heidelberg
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is membership-based, with partly communal beds and partly allotments.

Situated at Salt Creek’s meeting with the Yarra River, this sustainable food garden is a joint venture between the Banyule Anglican Church and the local community. Both individual and community plots are available and new members are very welcome. A gardening get-together occurs each month where seedlings are shared, compost is made, fascination is felt about the latest vegetables appearing and members always feel comfortable to try new planting experiences and see what happens. Workshops conducted have included building wicking beds, liquid fertilisers, pruning fruit trees and making hot compost.

A food swap is held at the garden on the 4th Saturday of every month, 10-11am.

In August 2019, Judy Vizzari visited the garden. Read her writeup of the visit.

Gardening in the cool evening riverside air is refreshing!

Strathdon House Kitchen Garden
Name:
Strathdon House Kitchen Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Forest Hill
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is open to the public during house opening hours.

The kitchen garden was established in 2019. It comprises around 20 garden beds and wicking beds of varying sizes and heights to cater for use by the community of different age groups (including children) and abilities. Volunteers help to plant, maintain and harvest the vegetable and herb crops. They also have seasonal planting and harvesting activities that members of the community are invited to participate in.

The kitchen garden is located in the grounds of Strathdon House, where a wide range of workshops focusing on environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing, including cooking workshops, take place. Produce harvested from the kitchen garden is sometimes used in these workshops.

Strathdon House itself was originally built in 1893 and its associated orchard was around 40 acres in size in the early 20th Century. The remaining two acres of this orchard is the last of its kind in Whitehorse City Council, with a variety of fruit trees including apples and plums.

They are always on the lookout for more volunteers to join the team in either the garden or the house.

On the 3rd Saturday of each month, 10-11.30am, there is a food swap.

Sustainable Macleod Community Garden
Name:
Sustainable Macleod Community Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Macleod
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is membership-based.

The garden started in 2015. They were fortunate to have received some grants from Banyule City Council to assist them in establishing the garden.

The garden is communally cultivated and the food raised is distributed between those who work in the garden, Macleod College and local organisations that provide food for those in need.

The site is two disused tennis courts in the grounds of Macleod College on the Somers Avenue boundary just north of the Basketball Stadium. The project is being run by Sustainable Macleod.

Sylvester Hive Community Garden
Name:
Sylvester Hive Community Garden
Category:
Township/suburb:
Preston
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

This garden is open to the public.

What: Sylvester Hive community garden was built in partnership between Darebin Council, The Pavilion School and local residents on land generously provided by the school. The garden was launched in November 2016. With a border of fruit trees, 14 raised wicking beds for vegetables and herbs, storage container and shelter, seating, composting bays and a children’s sand pit, the garden has been designed as a welcoming space to meet with friends and neighbours.

Who: A group of local residents have formed to take care of the garden which they have named ‘Sylvester Hive’ (‘Sylvester’ is derived from the Latin for woodland and ‘Hive’ denotes a place where people meet and connect). The group meet regularly to discuss and agree on how the garden is to be managed, used, planted and harvested. The raised wicking beds are all cultivated communally and the harvest is shared at regular communal meals and celebrations.

When: The garden is open all week. Members meet regularly at the garden every Saturday, midday-3pm.