Moonee Valley and Hobsons Bay City Council’s My Smart Garden program are running three free events for April.
Winter vegie gardening
Saturday 6 April, 10am– 12.30pm
Strathmore Heights Community Centre and Community Garden
1 Boeing Rd, Strathmore Heights
Rather than abandoning your garden after your summer vegie harvest, it’s now time to think about all the wonderful winter crops you could enjoy. This workshop will guide you through preparing vegie beds and choosing the right crops for the cooler time of year. Local community gardeners will also be happy to have a chat and share their gardening knowledge.
Pre-permablitz garden design workshop
Thursday 18 April, 10am – 12 pm
Bowes Avenue Community Centre
27-31 Bowes Ave, Airport West
This workshop will start the garden design for the ‘permablitz’ (aka edible garden working bee) we’ll host at the community centre in June. Adam from Very Edible Gardens will lead us through the process of permaculture design, we’ll carry out a site analysis, talk about design options and sketch up an initial garden design as a group. We’d especially love to see local Airport West residents there, but others are most welcome of course!
Walk and talk: Local plants at Newport Lakes
Saturday 20 April, 10.30 – 12.45pm
Newport Lakes Reserve
Lakes Drive (also known as Margaret St) Newport. Meet at carpark near the nursery.
Join us on a guided walking tour of Newport Lakes Reserve, a bushland oasis that has been revegetated using over 200 local (or indigenous) plant species. These plants have adapted to our local weather and soils and so are more drought tolerant and rarely require fertilising or soil improvement. ‘Low maintenance’ – music to the ears of many gardeners!
Andrew, our local park ranger, will lead the walking tour and reveal the unique beauty and significance of the local plants and wildlife, providing inspiration for you to create a native habitat garden at home.
After the walk, Angela from Newport Lakes Native Nursery will introduce you to the large variety of local plants they grow – from trees and shrubs to bulbs, lilies, wildflowers, groundcovers and even aquatic plants suitable for ponds, dams or wet spots. She’ll also lead us on a tour of the production nursery.
Please wear enclosed shoes suitable for walking up hills and dress for the weather on the day (eg. hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water). You may well be tempted to buy some very reasonably priced plants so feel free to bring your cash and support your local not-for-profit nursery.
For more information, grab a copy of the brochure.
All of these events are FREE. Bookings for each event are essential. To book: www.mysmartgarden.eventbrite.com.au or call 9932 1142.