Open Gardens

If you RSVP for this event, an email (containing directions) will be sent to the email address you provide on the RSVP form. If you do not receive an email, please check your junk mail folder.

Shunyam has invited us to visit her well established production garden in Bundagen. A long time member and resident of the Bundagen rural co-operative, she has extensive knowledge on all manner of homegrown delights. She has even tried her hand at aquaponics and Leela is keen to see how her young coconut palm is doing after our last BSS visit in 2014.

If you RSVP for this event, an email (containing directions) will be sent to the email address you provide on the RSVP form. If you do not receive an email, please check your junk mail folder.

Leonie would like to invite us to a social seedsavers xmas lunch, at her beautiful Repton home. She is a dynamic lady, living there between travels for many years. She’ll try to tell you she has a modest productive garden, but I’ve discovered she’s been holding out on us for too long!

Nick has been designing permaculture gardens and water flow management for many years. Living in leafy Repton, he has been crafting his own integrated garden experience.
Nick says:

This garden has some small annual beds, a food forest of about 500 square metres and an acre of rainforest planting & regeneration. Seedsavers made a visit here two years ago and saw some recently installed water conservation measures. These measures are now working well. They include greywater diversion to vegies, blackwater integrated into food forest, swales, tank overflow spreader pipes and summer shade for annual vegies. The food forest is now better shaded, sheet mulched and has a variety of edible ground covers.      

Morning Tea at “Nemoral” Brierfield

The Wild Pollinator Count (WPC) https://wildpollinatorcount.com/ is coming up next month (10-17 November) and is a citizen science project run out of the University of New England. The aims of the WPC are to collect information on which native insects are important pollinators in crops and gardens around the country.  Everyone has seen the European Honey Bee in action, however many native insects also contribute to pollination services.

Research is lacking on the identification of native pollinators, their habits and how they are affected by human activities.  The WPC provides an opportunity to contribute to the conservation of wild pollinating insects in Australia.

In order to encourage participation in the WPC by Bellingen Seed Saver (BSS) members we will be having a “dry run” on the identification and counting of native pollinators in our area.  This will involve a visit to member (and entomologist) Debbie Kent’s property at Brierfield on the morning of Saturday 26^th October.  We will be hoping for a fine sunny morning to learn about the project by observation in Debbie’s native garden, vegetable and orchard areas.

Numbers will be limited and if demand is high a second course may be run on a following weekend before the official count starts.

Contingency plans will be in place if the weather is unfavourable on the day as wet cool conditions will limit insect activity.

More than meets the eye in this new Fernmount garden:

Tim Hill and his growing family have been living in what was a vacant block for just over two years now, some of you may be familiar with it as the former ‘Secret Garden’ nursery. Lots of planning, passion and effort has netted him a food forest, jumping out of the ground out and proud, in the front yard. An unorthodox style, but then a little chaos always brings opportunity.

Around the back there is more experimentation and innovation with livestock and microclimates; endless fun and education for his kids.

Join us for lunch in a fledgling garden that is taking off, full of vigour and promise. See what’s been happening so far on the FB page Secret Garden Tiny Farm

You will need to bring a chair if you would like something to sit on other than the ground!

Hi all,

Well, the solstice is nearly upon us and we invite you to visit one of our favourite winter wonderlands; David Pepper’s abundant and eclectic Gleniffer garden.
We will get together for an early, leisurely  lunch, followed by rambles through the property to marvel at David’s latest doings. And if we’re lucky, maybe get the firepit blazing.
Always a relaxed and jovial affair, please join us to warm the shortest of days and herald the lengthening ones to come ☺

Hi all,

Over the last 3 years, Susan has been steadily building up from scratch, in the middle of Urunga. The good soil and the mild climate have worked with her, to produce a rewarding mix of ornamental natives and a productive vegie patch. Bigger and better things are planned for the patch, but so far so good with this garden project

Hi all,

it’s been a couple of years since some of you last saw my ‘toy farm’; I have been busy experimenting and shaping my adventure garden and food forest. Having had some successes with grafting, I have planted new fruit avenues and optimistically snuck a few tropicals into the shrubbery 😉

I am also now experimenting with colonising the rafters in my conservatory; always keen to utilize a discovered microclimate! Some other projects are having greater and lesser successes, but still enjoying the challenge and experience of it all.

Whilst the summer weather is heating up for you all, come and enjoy the relative cool with me up here in the mountains. Bring a christmassy plate to share for this late afternoon gathering.

😆Leela