Test Garden Open Day - November
Our monthly open day held in the Test Garden, designed for garden and plant lovers.
Each month, we hold a small in-conversation event focused on gardening and garden design, followed by a hands-on workshop.
You can hear from gardeners, designers and horticulturalists about the garden’s naturalistic planting style and learn about the new flowers in bloom. We also invite writers and creatives to share their experience of plants and gardens with us.
The talk is followed by a hands-on workshop demonstrating artist-led practice with plants, such as cyanotype and botanical printing, and practical workshops, including propagation techniques and planting for your own garden.
You can choose to register for one or both sessions, although numbers are limited.
Event details
These events will be held outdoors in the Test Garden at Fed Square. Please bring a hat and water bottle; all other materials will be provided.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Saturday 1 November, 10am–11.30am | Test Garden
Countless Australian species of birds, bees and butterflies are in decline or threatened with extinction, but you can help.
In a discussion with Sarah Tutton (Director of Programming and Interpetation at Fed Square) writer and gardener Jaclyn Crupi (author of Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies) shows us that protecting and fostering precious native wildlife starts in our own backyards. The first step: start planting! And choose native plants where possible. This alone presents endless opportunities for habitat creation – sometimes it’s the smallest actions that make the biggest difference. Providing a well-placed dish of water on a hot day or allowing leaf litter to stay where it falls are among the many other super simple ways you can make your garden or balcony more attractive to native birds, bees and butterflies, and in turn benefit all species.
Saturday 1 November, 11.30am–1pm | Edge Terrace
In this workshop, hosted by writer and gardener Jaclyn Crupi, make your own biodegradable waste-free pots from newspaper. Learn how to prepare cuttings of drought-tolerant habitat-providing native plants with the best chance of strike rate success. You will then take home your pot and cuttings. They will be ready to plant out in about 6–8 weeks. These plants provide much-needed habitat for native birds, bees and butterflies.
In this workshop you will:
- Learn how to make pots from sheets of newspaper
- Be shown best practice for taking cuttings of native plants
- Gain an understanding of potting media
- Acquire skills in propagating from cuttings
- Take home a pot full of native cuttings ready to plant in your own garden in 6–8 weeks
- Take steps to provide much needed habitat plants for native birds, bees and butterflies (and lizards and skinks)