Holistic garden opens to public

BALLARAT residents Amanda Collins and Scott Deano will be opening their permaculture inspired food garden to the public this weekend.

The couple have been working on the garden for seven years and they have turned it into a place full of produce, chooks, and bees.

“We shifted from a 10-acre block at Navigators around seven years ago after discovering beekeeping and wanting to dedicate more of our time to beekeeping,” said Ms Collins.

“We decided to move into town, purchased a quarter acre block and tried to make it more environmentally sustainable.”

The pair teach beekeeping in spring and summer and their edible garden includes a micro apiary.

“Our front garden is dedicated to pollinators and is a garden for wildlife, great for nectar eaters,” said Ms Collins.

“We produce most of our vegetables from our backyard and we have a small slot of chickens, beehives and a greenhouse.

“We’re as self-sustainable as we can living in an urban setting.”

Ms Collins said she wants to open her garden to help people see what they can do to live more sustainably.

“It will give people an opportunity about what people can actually do in urban setting,” she said.

“People often think they’re constrained to doing a lawn or pebble mix, but there’s actually so many opportunities to live a bit more sustainably.”

The event will take place on Sunday 26 November from 10am at 306 Errard Street in Ballarat Central.

Tickets to enter the garden are $10 with all proceeds going towards the Hidden Orchard and can be purchased via bit.ly/469Qgbv.