Garden keeps growing

The Docklands Community Garden continues to flourish under the watchful eyes of a team of committed volunteers.

Vegies are growing, flowers are blooming and herbs are sprouting.

Stop by the organic garden, nestled between office towers and apartment buildings in Victoria Harbour, and you’ll see butterflies fluttering around and perhaps some gardeners watering the plants.

Greg Wise (pictured right) is a regular face in the community garden and you’ll often see him tending the crops.

He joined the garden committee in September last year at a time when the garden was finding its feet after officially opening in July.

Greg and a team of five other locals are now nurturing the garden and ensuring it thrives.

They spend about four hours in the garden each Sunday tending to the plants and keeping the garden in top condition.

Committee members have even chipped in out of their own pockets to keep the garden up and running while waiting for a council grant to come through.

The garden received a $2000 community grant from the City of Melbourne in October but the committee has not received the funds yet because it isn’t incorporated.

Thankfully, the Docklands Rotary Club has stepped in and agreed to act as banker and will receive the grant before passing it on to the garden committee.

The garden is open to all visitors, workers and locals in Docklands and everyone is welcome to sample the produce.

Greg said workers in neighbouring buildings often stopped by the garden on their lunchbreaks for some time-out and locals often picked a few vegies or herbs for their dinners.

But he asked visitors to be mindful of how much produce they take from the garden and to remember the garden is for everyone to share.

He said the committee was keen to recruit more volunteers to assist with the upkeep and maintenance of the garden.

“It’s a great way to meet new people,” Greg said. “I’ve made a whole group of new friends by getting involved with the community garden.”

Anyone wanting to get involved can contact the garden committee by emailing [email protected].