Spring 2026 Newsletter
Hello Gardeners,
As the vibrant warm sunshine returns, our garden is waking up for a busy growing season! We have an exciting lineup of spring activities to keep us active, inspired, and connected over the coming months.
Whether you are tending your own plot, sharing seeds, or helping maintain our shared beds, member participation is what makes our space flourish. Break out the gardening gloves and join us for our upcoming Working Bees ready for our Spring Open Day in October.
The garden's Spring Open Day is shaping up to be a delightful event! This is the perfect opportunity to explore the vibrant garden, purchase some plants for your veggie garden, and indulge in delicious treats. We will also have the charming tunes of the BUKES, whose ukulele melodies will provide the perfect soundtrack to a day filled with community spirit. Read on to see how you can get involved!
Upcoming Working Bees
Sunday 27 September, Sunday 11 October & Sunday 1 November @ 10:00am
Working Bees are a great way to get involved in the garden and to get to know your fellow community gardeners.
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
VOLUNTEERS FOR SPRING OPEN DAY
Organising a successful Spring Open Day is a team effort, and every bit of help counts! Volunteers play a crucial role in the smooth running of the event, and even a few hours of assistance can make a significant difference. This is also a good way to fulfil your membership requirement at the garden!
If you are able to volunteer some time on the day, including to assist with setting up and packing up, please reach out to the committee by email to northbrightoncg@gmail.com
PUBLIC ART AND CULTURE GRANT
We are very excited that City of Holdfast Bay has awarded the garden a 2026/27 Public Art & Culture Grant. The grant will be used to create mosaic art works for the garden fence, as shown in the illustration below. Garden members and the local community will be invited to be involved in learning about and creating mosaic artworks.
Further details will be provided after our Spring Open Day!
SA COMMUNITY GROWING CONFERENCE
Community gardens thrive when we share what we know, learn from each other and make connections beyond our own garden gate. That’s exactly what the SA Community Growing Conference is all about.
This event is organised by Community Gardens Australia, Grow It Local and Permaculture Australia. Further details are provided below:
SEED LIBRARY
With the busy planting season ahead, this is a great opportunity to remind garden members that the garden has a seed library. Garden members are able to take up to two packets per household at a time (availability will vary). Plant your seeds and watch them grow into mature plants - then save the seeds!
Find out more about saving seeds for the seed library on our website here.
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: The next New Member Orientation will be held on 11 October 2026 due to the 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?
Spring is putting on a show! Our garlic plants are standing tall and sturdy, while delicate peach blossoms and bright broad bean flowers are blooming right on cue. Take a stroll past the plots this month to catch these gorgeous early-season blooms and vibrant greenery in action.
WHAT TO PLANT AND JOBS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS SEASON
Now is the time to sow your warm-season crops like tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini and cucumber, and plant out young seedlings for an early harvest. It’s a great idea to plan your succession plantings throughout spring, so you enjoy a steady harvest throughout the warmer months!
In addition to your vegetable crops, early spring is the ideal time to plant companion flowers like marigolds and nasturtiums. Nasturtiums act as a fantastic trap crop, drawing aphids and caterpillars away from your precious leafy greens and brassicas—plus, their vibrant flowers and pepper flavoured leaves are entirely edible! Planting both around the borders of your vegetable plots helps attract essential pollinators like bees, creating a balanced and healthy ecosystem for the growing season.
If you are planning any structural garden projects or new raised beds, build and install them now before the summer heat arrives.
Finally, spring is the peak breeding season for worm farms, so feed them regularly with varied kitchen scraps and keep the bin shaded and moist as temperatures begin to climb.