Autumn 2026 Newsletter
Hello Gardeners,
As the air turns crisp and the leaves begin to turn, the garden is entering a colourful seasons. While the summer growth slows down, the garden remains a hive of activity as we shift our focus to the autumn plant sale and preparing the garden for the cooler months.
Our sensory garden is also now ready for a much-needed refresh, which will be completed over the coming months. This will involve:
Replanting the herb spiral with plants that are edible or can be used in teas
Removing plants that are past their best and replanting with plants that fit into the sensory experience
Removing the damaged timber sleepers in the path and replacing with new gravel
Building an arbour to create an entry way to the Sensory Garden, this then will have a climbing plant
Community artworks and new signage
Sourcing a curved concrete bench - please let us know if you know of one looking for a new home!
Introducing a water feature
Working Bee & Morning Tea
12 April 2026 & 3 May 2026 - 10:00am
Working Bees are a great way to get involved in the garden and to get to know your fellow community gardeners.
We’ll begin with a morning tea, allowing garden members and participants to mingle and get to know each other. After enjoying a chat and cuppa, we will discuss the various tasks that need attention in the garden and offer guidance for those eager to contribute to its care. Then, it will be time to roll up our sleeves and get gardening!
What to bring: Gardening gloves, secateurs, water bottle, sunscreen & hat
Autumn Plant Sale
19 April 2026 - 9:00am - 1:00pm
Our committee and volunteers have been busy providing plenty of TLC to a huge variety of seedlings and plants that will be ready for their new homes very soon. Whether you're looking to fill a gap in your borders or start a winter veggie patch, we have something for you.
Join us for a garden tour at 11:00am, followed by a workshop on ‘Growing Economic Edibles’, focusing on how to grow the easiest foods that will give you the best bang for buck, saving you time, money and energy.
Find out below how you can get involved and volunteer on the day!
VOLUNTEERS FOR AUTUMN PLANT SALE
We need your help in a number of ways to make sure our Autumn Plant Sale is a success, and this is a good way to fulfill your membership requirement at the garden! If you are able to volunteer your time in any of the below activities, please reach out to the committee by email to northbrightoncg@gmail.com
Plant fostering
Do you have a sunny spot at home? Our greenhouse is full of young seedlings for our Autumn plant sale. We need people to care for a tray of seedlings at home until they are ready to be sold.
Set up and manning the stalls
If you can help on day or before the day, any time you can spare would be great. You do not need to commit to helping for the whole event.
PLOT AVAILABLE
Do you wish to grow your own vegetables but lack space at home? We have a garden plot available for lease! Now is the ideal time to prepare for planting cooler weather crops. If this opportunity interests you, please reach out via email at northbrightoncg@gmail.com
Benefits of a Plot Membership:
Members will enjoy the benefits of access to an individual plot
Access to water and tools
Social gatherings and community connections
Insurance cover
Access to propagated seedlings and seeds
Before you apply, consider that:
You must be an existing paid general garden member
There can only be one garden plot for each household
Plot holders are expected to attend at least 3 working bees per year to assist with general garden maintenance and development.
Rates:
Plot Membership fee is $45 per 6 months or $90 per 12 months.
Concession and pensioner prices are $40 per 6 months or $80 per 12 months.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATIONS
New Member Orientations are held on the 1st Sunday of each month at 10.30am. If you have recently joined as a garden member or want to learn about what we do and how you can be involved in the garden, come along to a new member orientation session. No booking required.
Please note that the next orientation will be held on 12th April 2026, due to the Easter long weekend.
WEDNESDAY MORNING TEA
Morning Tea is held every Wednesday at 10:00am. Have a world-famous brownie recipe? Bring it along to our regular social event where everyone is welcome to come along for a cuppa, chat and share a bite to eat. We’ll often stay back to do a few jobs as well.
What to bring: Gardening gloves, drink bottle, plate of food to share (encouraged but not compulsory)
WHAT HAS BEEN GROWING IN THE GARDEN?
Some of you may have noticed the bunch of bananas growing in the garden.
The bananas were harvested and enjoyed at our working bee in March.
Our dragonfruit plant is loving the recent warm weather and has begun to flower.
If the flowers are pollinated, they will turn into beautiful tropical fruits, that are bright pink in colour.
Dragon fruit has a delicious flavour, somewhere between a kiwi fruit and a pear, with tiny poppy like seeds to give that little crunch.
WHAT TO PLANT AND JOBS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS SEASON
Now that the bulk of the extreme hot weather is over, it’s time to start thinking about autumn/winter crops while still enjoying the bounty of late summer crops like chillies, capsicums, melons, corn and basil. If you were lucky enough to pickup a rosella plant from us, this should be fruiting very soon too. For these, pick the calyx (fruit) when it is has finished flowering and is nice and plump.
Sow winter seeds like brocolli, cabbage and Asian greens either in punnets or direct in ground now for an autumn crop. Then again over the next couple months for extended harvests.
Garlic, coriander and lettuces can be planted direct now, the recent rains and soil warmth will give them a great head start. It’s also a great time to plant brambles like raspberry, blackberry, loganberry and boysenberry.
As the late deciduous fruits come into season, now is your last chance to prune fruit trees to get any new growth this season. Keep tip pruning citrus all year round and prune any overgrown shrubs as needed.
Apply compost to veggies and trees now so the nutrients become fully available by winter (compost is very slow acting).
Your fruit trees will have spent a lot of energy producing (hopefully) yummy fruit. So, as soon as they’ve finished fruiting apply an organic based fertiliser like Gyganic, Katek or Dynamic Lifter to replenish any exhausted nutrients.
Shade cloths can now also be safely removed.