The Hunter River Times

By Meredith Blair

The members of the Singleton Community Garden will be all dressed up this weekend at their Formal Frock Social Gardening this Sunday June 18.

Opening nine years ago, the garden was built on an old tennis court along Singleton’s Bathurst St, now containing a variety of plants including olive trees, native trees, non-edible flowers, herb and veggie gardens.

“I really like the social aspect of the community garden, getting to see people that might be different to me but also love gardening. Being a member of the garden has had a financial impact on me too, I’ve had to buy less groceries because I’m getting fresh produce from my gardens and am trading with members that have gardens at home themselves. More than anything though it’s a bit of fun for everyone and shows a bit of community spirit,” Singleton Community Garden President Paige Gough told The Hunter River Times.

The Community Garden holds various events throughout the year for its members alongside its regular Sunday Social Gardening, including the Shared Table, where members bring along homemade dishes, inspired by their country of origin or including something fresh from their garden, showcasing the diversity of their members.

While membership used to be $60 to rent a garden bed at the Community Garden, membership has been reduced to $20 for the year to use the communal space.

“We’ve found that since we reduced the membership and the garden became a more communal space, every garden bed is getting used  and people can take what they’d like from whatever garden bed. We managed to reach 62 members this past year and we’re really hoping to hit 100 this year by bringing more people in if we can,” Paige said.

Starting from 9am, members of the Community Garden will be in their fancy frocks, ready to answer community questions about gardening, membership to  the garden or getting more involved with the Community Garden.

Head down to the Singleton Community Garden this weekend, Sunday June 18 from 9am to find out more.