NATIONAL GARDEN WEEK FOR 2019, IS OCTOBER 13-19
National Gardening Week offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the simple joys of gardening and to highlight the associated environmental, social and health benefits. Whether it be maintaining a few pots on a balcony, a suburban backyard or a large country expanse, the enjoyment, the improved mental and physical wellbeing and the satisfaction gardeners gain from ‘getting their hands dirty’ is universal.
National Gardening Week Activities and Ideas
Here’s a few ideas and activities that we have come up (15 in all) with to celebrate National Gardening Week – if you can add to the list please don’t hesitate to contact us. Email – president@gardenclubs.org.au
Herbs in the garden or planted in pots
Herbs are easy to grow and useful in the kitchen – plant up a sunny spot in the garden or gather a collection of pots and enjoy the flavours!
Recycle/upcycle quirky containers
Old paint tins, tool boxes, gum boots, shoes make great herb pots or succulent displays.
Create unusual signage in the garden or veggie patch
Use some old bricks, pavers, roofing tiles, rocks and waterproof permanent marker or paint to make unique markers for your veggie or herb patch.
Make a scarecrow
Lots of fun for a classroom activity or rainy afternoon with the kids and a decorative feature in the garden!
Put in a Birdbath
Birds love a drink and somewhere to splash about especially in our hot and dry summers. Buy a birdbath or let your imagination go wild and create your own.
Flower garlands
Creating flower garlands is a fun activity for the classroom, garden club or group of friends and how pretty you’ll look over a cup of tea afterwards.
Community Gardens
If you don’t have the space to garden at home, check out if you have a local community garden. You’ll get you own plot and a whole network of friends to advise and assist.
Games and garden quizzes
A fun way to enjoy the garden and educate at the same time, whether in the shade of a tree or indoors on inclement days.
Visit your local garden club
Look up your local club (The Garden Clubs of Australia can assist with locating) and go along to a meeting. Garden clubs are always looking for new members and offer everything from guest speakers, trading tables of interesting plants, floral displays, day outings and overnight trips – all with a cup of tea and yummy treats.
Create a sensory garden
Create a sensory garden at home, at school, in a nursing home, your local park – anywhere that will enhance the beauty of the place and excite the senses. When planning a sensory garden, it is important to combine plants and elements that appeal to all five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
Plant a tree
Plant a tree in your garden, local park, school yard or bush regeneration project – the benefits are amazing! Not only from the pleasure of watching a tree grow and mature, admiring its natural beauty but the fact that it purifies the air by absorbing C02 and other harmful pollutants and releases life giving oxygen. Trees give shade, cool our environment, provide shelter for our wildlife, prevent soil erosion and some give us delicious fruit such as apples and oranges.
Build a bee hotel
Most native bees are solitary and make their nests in a variety of places such as soils, hollows in trees, decaying wood, hollow stems – building a bee hotel is the perfect way to encourage them into your garden, your school yard, etc.
Build a compost heap
Recycle all your vegetable and fruit scraps and create a wonderful soil conditioner and plant food.
Plant up a veggie patch
If your garden or school doesn’t already have a vegetable patch, why not create one!
Flower gardens
Whether in a pot or beds in the garden, the fragrance and colour display that flowers bring to a space is magical.
FIRST NATIONAL GARDEN WEEK:
