October 8, 2020

Garden Visit to Stuart and Emily’s garden in Missabotti

Description from Emily:

Stuart and myself moved here 25 years ago wanting to escape the city and suburban living. We both loved gardening so we researched locations that appealed to us. The Nambucca Valley seemed ideal and affordable so we bought and settled onto our new venture; a 10 acre property with dreams of establishing gardens and orchards on the empty block. We initially planted an olive grove but ended up removing them as they just struggled to survive the pests and humidity. Now we have pecans and macadamia trees. Busy at the moment shelling the nuts we harvested earlier in the year.
We look forward to showing you around ‘Misthaven’. Incidentally we named our place ‘Misthaven’ due to the magnificent misty mornings that we experience regularly.

After the garden tour, there is the promise of afternoon tea, with home made goodies!

Numbers of course will have to be limited, so RSVP to grab a place, then details and directions will be given to successful respondents. Please keep in mind the concerns of current times for the good of all.

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.

September 6, 2020

Garden Visit to David’s food forest in Gleniffer

NewsletterDon Open Gardens

Previously, many of us have reveled at David Pepper’s solstice gathings. To mix it up in this mixed-up year, we’re having a spring equinox meet, to spark up a little joy in the warming of the season. Come along and enjoy David’s unique humour and eccentric style in his Glennifer food-forest garden.

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.

August 9, 2020

Seed Packing at Susan’s

NewsletterDon Plant Fair, Seed Packing

We have a big September planned!

Bellingen Seed Savers are planning to distribute seeds and plant materials from a stall in the Wednesday Bellingen Farmers and Producers Market (now near the tennis courts), in a yet to be announced week later this September.

Susan in Urunga has offered to host for the seed packing day. Some of us visited her lovely new house and garden last year. We would like to get a busy group packing and chatting, with afternoon tea.

Calling all those comitted to the cause!

Bring donations of saved dried seeds for packing.
Bring donations of seedlings for potting up.

Numbers of course will have to be limited, so rsvp to grab a place, then details and directions will be given to successful respondents.

When you RSVP, an email with directions will be sent automatically to the email address you provided in the RSVP form. If you do not receive an email, please check your junk mail folder.

August 9, 2020

Shambaba Retreat garden visit

NewsletterDon Open Gardens

‘Shambaba Retreat’, formerly known as ‘The Old Satyananda Ashram, is now home to a new Bellingen Shire family. They have taken on 12 acres of bushland and established gardens (both ornamental and productive) in beautiful Glennifer. Set up now to operate as a retreat and education centre, they would love to share with us the beauty of the property, and discover more about productive growing in this unique, gorgeous part of the world.

Numbers of course will have to be limited, so rsvp to grab a place, then details and directions will be given to successful respondents. Please keep in mind the concerns of current times for the good of all.

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. If the event is fully subscribed, you will not receive an email.

June 7, 2020

Dreamtime multiple occupancy gardens

NewsletterDon Open Gardens

How are things growing at your place? Reaping the benefits of hard work and saving seeds, I hope!

BSS have had an ‘unprecedented’ demand for seeds and plant materials and there’s been much enthusiasm for homegrown harvests. To keep the momentum growing, we are planning a small meet up; to exchange seeds, surplus and stories. We also plan to tour a section of the Dreamtime multiple occupancy and see the beauty and bounty some of its members have been busy creating.

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.

March 4, 2020

Seed Labelling at a Bellingen Cafe

NewsletterDon Plant Fair, Seed Packing

The seeds have been prepared and packed into bags, now they need to be put into packets and labelled. Jeff has been super-busy preparing labels for us. All we need to do is turn up spend an hour or so putting bagged seeds into packets and sticking labels on.

Labelling afternoon this Saturday. As a treat for 10 worker bees, we will finish off the seed packets at a popular Bellingen cafe (serving Leela’s favourite coffee) & it’s a BSS shout for cake and coffee/tea. Event location details will be sent to first 10 respondents.

Bellingen Seed Savers will present seeds (including these ones you can help label) and plants at a stall at the Bellingen Spring Plant Fair! Saturday March 14.

Any questions, contact Leela on gardenvisits@bellingenseedsavers.com or phone 0417 536 490

If you don’t receive an email giving details of how to get to the event soon after RSVPing. Please check your junk mail. If there is no email from us in there, the event may be booked out.

February 10, 2020

Seed Packing at Gillian’s for the Autumn Plant Fair

NewsletterDon Plant Fair, Seed Packing

Bellingen Seed Savers will distribute seeds and plants at the Bellingen Autumn Plant Fair. In preparation, we will gather to pack seeds, and share morning tea and plant knowledge. Gillian’s garden is in Fernmount.

Bring donations of saved dried seeds for packing.
Bring donations of seedlings for potting up.

When you RSVP, an email with directions will be sent automatically to the email address you provided in the RSVP form. If you do not receive an email, please check your junk mail folder.

January 12, 2020

Shunyam’s garden in Bundagen

NewsletterDon Open Gardens

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.

December 8, 2019

Leonie’s garden in Repton

NewsletterDon Open Gardens

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!

November 7, 2019

Nick’s garden in Repton

NewsletterDon Open Gardens

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.