This is NOT how the main street of Glenlyon looks at the moment

Just thought you'd like to see what Barkly Street (aka Main Street) of Glenlyon looks like in summer.  We're a friendly town - but we don't usually eat together in the main street - this is only the second time in eight years.

One morning in March

Several hours later that same day

Rams away

Mrs Gooch's Garden is always an amazing source of delight. The shed. The orchard. The garden beds. The water tank. The veg beds.  The gorgeous willow windbreaks. And this chap!

Sustainable gardening

Sustainable gardening means different things to different people / places.  One of the questions on offer in December will be: how best to ensure pleasant garden experiences for humans and wallabies.

Not just gardens

Seven amazing gardens will be open for inspection on 8-9 December. But that's not all to see and do.  There will be a wide range of activities happening in our lovely historic Glenlyon Shire Hall.  Keep an eye out for who will be talking about what, closer to the weekend.

Bookings for the gardens can be made here trybooking.com/BYDI.  Five dollars a garden or $25 the lot - great value!

Plans for Gardens of Glenlyon are firming up

The seed of an idea has taken root and Gardens of Glenlyon is a tangible reality. 

In the weekend of 8th and 9th December, seven Glenlyon properties will open to the public.

With a clear focus on sustainability, property owners will show how they have handled their environment, from the conversion of unforgiving soils to dealing with frost, floods and drought. For example, the Harris farm shows how wastes such as vegetation and food scraps can be recycled through pigs and goats to produce magnificent compost.

The Briscomb property demonstrates how an empty paddock can be converted into a beautifully landscaped garden in three years, while Jenny Corr’s garden displays the skill of melding the new with the very old. Other gardens dem-onstrate the tenacity of plants to survive in rocky clay soils, on exposed sites or in the middle of the forest.

A River Walk at Jill and John’s property shows how the bushland can be regenerated and the new Biolink path from the Bridge to the Reserve demonstrates how a community working together can revitalise the environment.

Demonstrations on propagation and making compost will be held at the Shire Hall, along with displays by local groups such as Landcare.

The Glenlyon Store and Ellender Estate will provide theme based food in a sustainable garden setting, while the CFA will offer morning and afternoon tea at the Hall.

Welcome to Gardens of Glenlyon

‘Gardens of Glenlyon’ will give people the opportunity to see our beautiful part of the world and explore a range of gardens, from formal home gardens to rambling bush estates. The purpose of the exercise will be to demonstrate how gardeners of this area have addressed the diversity of soil types, microclimates and site locations.

The gardens will be open for two days each year, commencing with ‘the summer garden’ in December 2012, followed by ‘autumn’ in 2014, ‘winter’ in 2015 and ‘spring’ in 2016. In this way, people will be able to observe the changes in the garden according to the seasons, but also they will see the natural evolution of a growing entity.

Importantly, the gardens will be experienced by the observers ‘warts and all’, with no attempt by the owners to reach gardening perfection.

I had envisaged six to ten gardeners taking part. We will ask for a small donation to the gardens, but the emphasis will not be on fund-raising. Instead, the focus will be the enjoyment and deeper understanding of gardens and gardening. We could incorporate other activities, such as small workshops etc, selling left-over plants or we could keep it very simple

These are the words of Jill Teschendorff - the intrepid creator of this scheme.