Shows and events
Victoria
12th February
The Great Local Lunch
Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
12.30pm - 2.30pm
The Great Local Lunch is a feature event of the 2017 Sustainable Living Festival, and we would love you to be involved!
You will feast on fresh locally grown and foraged produce, prepared by the chefs at Kinfolk Cafe.
What?
The Great Local Lunch is a celebration of community, food, farming and gardening in the heart of Melbourne. The aim of the event is to inspire a new generation of growers and support sustainable eating and local producers. Over 200 backyard growers, food lovers and local farmers will come together at Birrarung Marr to share a free 4-course feast prepared by Kinfolk Cafe.
Why?
To generate a buzz about local food, to support the local food industry, and build community and support for a sustainable future.
How?
There are two ways people can win tickets to the Great Local Lunch:
-
Register as a grower. Tell us what homegrown goodies you can contribute to the lunch and we’ll give you two tickets.
- Post a Local Lunchie. Don’t have a vegie garden but love local food? Post a lunchie (a selfie of you and your lunch) to Facebook or Instagram and you’ll be in the running to win one of 50 double passes to the Great Local Lunch. Make sure to include #LocalLunchie, tag Sustainable Living Festival (@slfestivalaus on Instagram) and let us know what the most local ingredient in your lunch is.
Host, Costa Georgiadis, from ABC’s Gardening Australia will unearth gardening, cooking, recipe and sustainability tidbits, and introduce Melbourne food scene movers and shakers.
To find out more head to the Sustainable Living Festival website.
Victoria
4th & 5th March
Gunyah Open Garden
Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th March 2017
22 Lochinvar Street, Pascoe Vale South
Open 10am–4.30pm
Entry $8 (children under 18 free)
phone: 0472 997 880
Karen Sutherland has created this bountiful urban food garden in a secluded street in Pascoe Vale South. Tangled vines with kiwi fruit and the rare and fragrant ‘Fragola’ (strawberry) grapes, strawberry guavas, espaliered feijoas, a weeping standard laden with apples and trees of ripening avocado, carob, citrus, figs, babaco and olives, scented herbaceous borders and colourful seasonal vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. Garden talks at 11am, 1pm & 3pm. Plant sales and refreshments.
Worldwide
25th March
Earth Hour 2017 (March 25) marks 10 years since the lights-out event first started in Australia in 2007.
Launched by WWF, the event has become the world’s biggest grassroots environmental movement where landmarks and communities switch off their lights to show their support for a brighter future for the planet.
Now celebrated in over 170 countries, and over 7,000 cities, with over 6 million Australians (1 in 4) taking part, Earth Hour has one mission: to unite people to protect the planet and show they care about its future.
On Saturday March 25, Australians will be called upon to turn off their lights between 8:30–9.30pm as a symbol of support for a low-pollution, clean-energy future for all generations.
Families, friends, businesses, schools and communities across the country can register and submit information about their own events at earthhour.org.au in advance of the global event.
Adelaide
26th March
Botanic Gardens of South Australia Masterclasses
The Art of Bonsai: Principles and Practices
Sunday 26 March or Thursday 21 September
10am – 3pm
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden
Learn about the ancient art and science of bonsai, from one of the Botanic Gardens' leading horticulturists, Rob Hatcher. In this practical hands-on Masterclass you will learn about the best horticultural practices to construct, grow and care for your very own bonsai. Class size is limited to 10 spots.
Download the course flyer for more information.
Book your spot online through Eventbrite - Sun 26 Mar or Thurs 21 Sep
Adelaide
6th April
Botanic Gardens of South Australia Masterclasses
Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices
Thursday 6 April, Sunday 7 May or Sunday 17 September
10am – 3pm
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden
Discover how to succeed with seedlings, take cuttings of rare or difficult to grow plants to enhance your garden, save money and satisfy the challenge of growing your own special plants. This course is ideal for rare plant collectors, horticulture students, school or kitchen garden coordinators or those home gardeners just wanting to meet the challenge of propagating your own plants.
Download the course flyer for more information.
Book your spot online through Eventbrite - Thurs 6 Apr, Sun 7 May or Sun 17 Sep
8th–9th April
Heirloom Weekend
Adelaide Botanic Garden
North Terrace, Adelaide
10am – 3pm
botanicgardens.sa.gov.au
Come and celebrate making the old... new again with The Diggers Club and The Botanic Gardens of South Australia.
FREE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
Workshops such as growing and preserving, heirloom vegetable display, farmers market, chickens, bee-keeping, live music, children’s activities and much more!
BOOK INTO A MASTERCLASS
Ph: (03) 5984 7900
or book online: diggers.com.au
Victoria
22nd–23rd April
Tesselaar Gardening and Plants Expo
357 Monbulk Road, Silvan
(40km directly east of Melbourne)
Open 9am – 4pm
Adults: $18.00 each
Concession: $15.00 each
Bulk/Group ticket purchase: $14 each (minimum of 4 tickets per group purchase. You dont have to attend Expo together.)
Unearth gardening treasures and meet the people who grow the plants at the Tesselaar Gardening and Plants Expo.
At the Expo you can meet with and buy direct from more than 40 nurseries and plant growers. The Dandenong Ranges forms part of the heart of Victoria’s plant-growing community and this extraordinary expo weekend brings the best of them together, with some insterstate guests.
There is a mind boggling range of plants on offer. You could take a walk on the wild side with something you have never heard of before, or find that long sought after plant, stock up on old favourites or get something for your vase. No matter what size garden you have, or how brown your thumb is there is a plant for you. See the Plant List for just some of our exciting range.
Learn the secret of their success! Gather knowledge from free gardening talks and demonstrations across the weekend. The speaker program offers experience, knowledge and inspiration from specialists in their field. Garden expert and personality Stephen Ryan is compere throughout the weekend, adding his informative and fun approach to gardening.
The Tesselaar Gardening and Plants Expo is set in the historic Tesselaar Gardens (home of the iconic Tesselaar Tulip Festival), it is a place of inspiration. The garden will be filled with roses, lilies and perennials, including newly released varieties to explore and enjoy.
There is a range of food and refreshments on offer or you are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy in the gardens. Dogs on leads are welcome. Local Scouts offer a plant crèche that will store purchases and deliver them to your car for just a gold coin donation.
The delightful Dandenong Ranges Yarra Valley region provides a stunning backdrop for this unmissable event. This area is home to a number of magnificent gardens to visit over the weekend.
Victoria
6th – 7th May
Annie's Open Garden
27 Brenda Road, Research
Open 10am – 4.30pm
Entry $8, students $5 (children under 18 free)
Ph: 0472 997 880
www.opengardensvictoria.org.au
A delightful one-acre garden where mulching, composting and soil sculpting have paid off to retain water and improve poor soil. Extensive rear productive garden, with black mulberry, black Genoan fig, apricots, blood plums, pomegranates, Valencia, Washington and blood oranges, limes, lemons and cumquats. Sausage sizzle, refreshments and plant sales.
Queensland
28th May
Queensland Herb Society Inc. Herb Awareness
9am – 4pm
Albion Peace Hall, 102 McDonald Road, Windsor
FREE ENTRY
(Note: No EFTPOS and only limited credit card facilities available)
For everyone who wants to learn more about growing and using herbs.
• Discover a large variety of medicinal and culinary herbs and plants for sale.
• Browse a wide variety of stalls with herbal products including preserves, coffee, teas, spices, skincare, bush foods, wines and all sorts of yummy delights.
• Relax and revive at Café Sage for delicious, home baked, herb inspired food and beverages.
• Enjoy a wide variety of FREE demonstrations, guest speakers, talks and workshops presented by informative Queensland Herb Society members and stall holders.
All this and much more awaits you at the Queensland Herb Society Annual Herb Awareness!
NSW
4th June
Weave a garden bed
Lyttleton Stores
1 Badgery Crescent
Lawson NSW
9:30am–12:30pm
$80 includes all materials and tuition information.
Come and join Jillian of Branching Out in the Lyttleton Gardens this winter and learn how to weave a raised garden bed. It is something that you can do in your own garden at home with friends and family, using materials such as willow sticks that help clear native areas from invasive weeds.
In this workshop you will learn:
The skills to harvest, strip and weave your own raised garden bed from natural materials.
Bring a picnic rug and stay for a BYO lunch or purchase an organic picnic hamper for $20 to enjoy in the garden.
10th and 11th June
Growing healthy food with less had yakka
Two-day course
Hill Top Farm
Cooktown Queensland
Growing healthy food doesn’t need to be such hard work. Redesign your garden to grow yummy food more reliably and with fewer costs. At our course ‘Growing healthy food with less hard yakka’ you’ll have fun designing an ecological makeover for your garden. Letting nature give you a helping hand. Creating an enchanting garden you’ll have more time to enjoy, and a safe space for your children to play, picking passion fruit, paw paws and pomelos …
17th June
Introduction to mushroom cultivation
Lyttleton Stores
1 Badgery Crescent
Lawson NSW
9am–1pm
$90 includes all materials and tuition information.
Mushrooms are widely treasured for their nutritional and health benefits,
but did you know that they are also vital for plant and ecosystem health?
Come and learn about the vital role mushrooms play in the health of your garden and its plants. Presented by local mushroom grower, Robin from Kedumba Urban Farm.
What you will achieve from the workshop:
Participants will learn to grow two different species of mushroom, and
understand how these species can work to improve the working of their
garden.
What will you take home from the workshop:
Participants will take home an inoculated shiitake log which they can fruit at home as well as a container of king stropharia spawn to inoculate a garden bed at home. They will also receive an ebook with care instructions for their mushrooms.
Bring a picnic rug and stay for a BYO lunch or purchase an organic picnic hamper for $20 to enjoy in the garden.