Meet, Smile, Grow

Greenbushes Community Garden is situated along Blackwood Road in Greenbushes opposite the Exchange Hotel. The community garden has a mix of fruit trees, native garden and vegetable garden beds.

The garden comes under the governance of ‘Grow Greenbushes Inc’ and is on land donated by Talison.

The group has twenty members who gather to have a ‘Busy Bee’ every Tuesday between 9am and 10.30, there is also one monthly planning meeting.

Irma Lachmund is a spokesperson for the community garden and is delighted to talk about why the garden is working so well, “The garden produces a wonderful abundance of fruit and vegetables which is shared by members helping at the ‘Busy Bee’, with the excess being available to the community through the Road House in Greenbushes.

“Watermelon, apples and pears are now right to be harvested, with our winter vegetables now being sown and planted.

“The garden is always a hive of activity. The community garden is not only a place where we grow plants, fruits and vegetables it is also and more importantly a social group. Community morning teas are held on the third Saturday of the month, along with welcoming conversations it is also a good opportunity to meet fellow gardeners from the patch along with the opportunity in taking part in a seed exchange and produce swap.

“It’s a place where our combined knowledge of what to grow, when to grow it, and what to look out for is readily exchanged.

“Workshops are also held, the last workshop was on ‘How to make Lilly Pilly champagne, which was very interesting.”

The community garden was given a grant of $4,150 from the Department of Communities.

Community Services Minister Simone McGurk stated, “Community gardening is a great way to bring people together at a local level while creating beautiful green spaces we can all enjoy.”

Irma talks about the improvements the grant will make, “The monies will be spent on a new design for parts of the garden, an improved outside meeting space and a fire pit, we are working towards a more natural looking, inclusive and accessible garden design.

“We are currently looking for input from our members and the wider community with good ideas and ways of improving the Garden.

“Membership of the Greenbushes Community Garden is open to Greenbushes and Bridgetown residents. We already have at least two members who live in Bridgetown. You are most welcome to come along to a Tuesday morning ‘Busy Bee’ when we can take you for a garden tour.”

For further information Greenbushes Community can be contacted through email on greenbushescommunitygarden@gmail.com