GLENRAC, NSW DPI Rural Resilience Program, NSW Environmental Trust, NSW Stronger Country Communities & Glen Innes Severn Council come together to give the community a great weekend
Two gardens directly affected by the recent bushfires were open last weekend as part of GLENRAC's free open winter garden event with guest presenter Meredith Kirton - gardening expert, author and Gardening Australia presenter alumni!
More than 260 people attended the events, demonstrating the joy of gardening and its important role in rural recovery after drought, flood and fire.
Day 1 was a gorgeous afternoon at ‘Rosedale’, home of the much loved Rob and Cath Wheatley. 130 attendees were joined by Meredith and native Australian plant expert Sarah Caldwell from Mole River Native Nursery. Sarah performed a demonstration on propagating native plants 101 before Meredith led a garden walk around 'Rosedale' discussing structure & its importance in cool climate gardens.
The sun shone on Sunday morning as we gathered for Day 2 at 'Whinstanes', home of the gorgeous Ros and Pete Alexander. 138 people perched on the lawn and across the house steps to learn about garden planning and how to design a cool climate garden from an empty canvas. We were again joined by Meredith who provided unique insight into what could be achieved in a garden like 'Whinstanes'. Pam Youman from Black Mountain Nursery also shared some of her incredible knowledge of plant selection for cool climate gardens, as well as tips and tricks she's learned along the way (did you know that during the mice plague bags of sugar cane mulch at the Nursery have been destroyed, whilst lucerne mulch has gone untouched?).
A big thank you to the Glen Innes local NSW Department of Primary Industries Recovery Support Officer Jane Munro who opened both events over the weekend, Deepwater Public School P&C and Glen Innes Pony Club who provided a delicious spread of fundraiser catering over the weekend and Our Place Wine and Espresso Bar who kept everyone caffeinated and warm for the duration of the weekend.
It was also great to be able to support small local business at these events, with hosts and presenters gifted gorgeous wood fired pottery by the Latenight Potter girls and woven alpaca scarves by Carmel Yeoman, and lucky attendees receiving lucky door prizes to the Garden Patch nursery at Say and Co Rural.
These events were funded through the NSW DPI Rural Resilience Program, NSW Environmental Trust, NSW Stronger Country Communities & Glen Innes Severn Council. The weekend was facilitated and delivered by the team at GLENRAC.