THE annual Bass Coast Edible Gardens weekend is done and dusted for another year, but what a fantastic event it was with the weather kind and lots of visitors and locals finding there way around to the 16 amazing gardens, 14 of them new to the Edible Gardens event and two which were returning favourites.
All gardens were open from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, February 8 and 9 and one of them was the garden of Marg and Peter Dumergue of Cape Woolamai.
The promotional material provided a summary:
“Container gardening is one way in which Marg and Pete have maximised the growing opportunities on their 600 square meters block. Their driveway is lined with pots and grow bags of all shapes, sizes and materials, interspersed with artworks including handmade pottery and even a carved bare bottom sculpture. This garden illustrates the beautiful coming together of growing food and creating art, two skills shared by these passionate gardeners.”
Both Peter and Marg were more than happy to show visitors around or just as easily let them do their own thing, enjoying the sights, sounds and aromas of a busy but well-maintained and orderly array.
“We came to Cape Woolamai in 2013 and started developing the garden from there. We brought a few pots and cuttings with us but it was just a lawn and some pittosporum, so it’s all grown up from there,” said Peter.
“Most of it is edible. We’ve got all your herbs, tomatoes, capsicum, passionfruit and an array of other veggies and fruits including lemons and limes, plus some edible natives as well including salt bush.”
There’s more than enough produce coming from Peter and Marg’s normal residential block that they can augment their own food needs and that of family and friends.
“We’ve got a bit of an exchange system going on,” he said.
Both Peter and Marg are members of the Cape Woolamai Coast Action Group, while Marg is a member of the San Remo Garden Group as well.
The pair have individual responsibility for distinct areas of the garden, Marg’s at the back and Peter down the sides and they share the work and design flare at the front. It seems to be a happy arrangement going by the fine array of healthy, interesting and beautiful plants including some delightful Bromeliads.
“We’ve had quite a lot of people come through which has been great, as well as some friends and we’ve had some volunteers here during the day to help,” said Marg.
Bass Coast Edible Gardens “celebrates a shared passion for growing food, building community and promoting sustainability” and is a major fundraiser for Bass Coast Adult Learning Inc with all of the ticket price donated to the adult learning group.
Sponsors include: Wonthaggi Garden Supplies, Bass Coast Shire Council, Townsend Nursery, the Country Gardener Wonthaggi and Bunnings Warehouse Wonthaggi.
