Creative harvest of gardens and art
The annual creative harvest returns this weekend, with garden owners teaming up with local artists and food artisans to bring the best of Gippsland to the public.
It’s a chance for visitors to see gardens that grow food well and learn from the experiences of others.
Gardens are open from Moe to Neerim South, with many different artists displaying their talents at each one.
From Yvonne’s Patch in Warragul, which will showcase how gardeners can utilise a small space and demonstrate how clever planning can provide more than enough harvest, to Hygge, a garden which is an inspiration to first home owners containing an abundance of berries, vegetables, bees and bokashi kitchen composing, there is plenty to see at each and every location.
Other gardens open for display include John and Jan’s Garden in Moe South which contains a natural swimming pool that is filtered through reed beds and The Edge, a small farm which provides food for the family from chickens and a milking cow, alongside their vegetable garden.
The well-established Lillico Garden also will be open, containing over 50 fruit and nut trees alongside a vegetable and herb garden, while Jindi Free Range Eggs will show the public how hens can live in open paddocks amongst an orchard.
For those looking for a large farmland landscape, Graham and Tessa’s garden in Jindivick is for you, with big ponds for birds to enjoy as well as a walled vegetable garden and many different sculptures on show. Sculptor Graham Duell will also be on site showing some of his work, as well as fielding questions around all things sculpting.
Artists Wayne and Laurel Foenander will be displaying some of their work out at Yarragon South in the Eurabbie garden space. This large garden located on a small sheep farm includes a developing orchard, with berries, chestnuts and a raised veggie garden bed, allowing many to experience not only the harvest, but the incredible views as well.
Over the hill at Willow Grove, Gado Gado gives visitors a chance to see an organic garden in motion, topped off by chooks, bees and a hot house which sit alongside a revegetated bush block in some of the most picturesque country Gippsland has to offer.
Finally, if you’re on the highway coming back from Willow Grove, Three Springs in Trafalgar South will also be opening its doors to visitors. This young food garden is well on its way to maturing to provide almost all the food necessary for the family, with Dot Thorne and Elizabeth Smoorenburg also displaying several different mosaic arts on both the Saturday and Sunday.
Throughout both Saturday and Sunday there are bus tours available, which will enable garden enthusiasts to see five gardens throughout the day while also sharing a lunch together.
Entry is just $5, with a five garden entry deal for $20 and children are free. Tickets can also be purchased at any location.
The Creative Harvest begins on Saturday at 10am and concludes on Sunday at 4pm. You can visit the Facebook page or the Baw Baw Shire event page for more information or www.bbsn.org.au/events to book.