MORNINGTON Community Garden is holding an open day on 17 October, inviting people to explore what the garden has to offer and learn some gardening tips and tricks.
From 10 am to 3 pm, visitors can enjoy a choir, sausage sizzle, tea, coffee and cakes, a raffle, and a chance to explore the garden’s offerings.
The open day is part of the Mornington Peninsula Seniors’ Festival, which aims to celebrate the later part of life, recognise the contributions senior people make to the community, and encourage older people to try something new.
Garden president Ian Barnes said the primary benefit of the garden is for those in the community who don’t have the space for gardening at home.
“A lot of people have downsized, so they don’t have much of their own garden,” said Barnes.
“So, part of our purpose is for those members to obviously benefit them and give them a safe social environment to continue gardening.”
The garden is council-owned, but volunteer-run.
A social membership is $60 per year, which includes access to the garden, kitchen, and shared plants. For an additional $55, members can receive their own plot, which is approximately three metres by three metres.
“There’s an interesting mix of what people are choosing to grow,” said Barnes.
“It depends on the season, but it’s everything from herbs to flowers to mainly veggies and the fruit trees.”
Barnes said gardening is a great way to get outdoors, remain active, and socialise.
“The core foundations of our community garden are to provide our members, their families, and the wider community with a supportive means to be social, grow food, maintain fitness and mental health while gardening in an environmentally sustainable manner,” said Barnes.
He said the open day is a chance for the public to learn more about gardening and gain tips and tricks to help them with their at-home gardens.
“We’re going to try and have enough members here throughout the day so if people ask questions, such as, ‘How do you grow this? What’s that? What would you advise for my home garden?’, we can give them advice,” said Barnes.
The community garden shares its excess produce with Mornington Community Support Centre, holds various workshops which are open to the public, and has two pre-schools with dedicated garden plots.
“We’ve got two local preschools who regularly bring the kids through here… it helps them understand that the fruit and veg that they see doesn’t always come from the supermarket,” said Barnes.
“Hopefully, we’ll get some of the next generation of gardeners who have been influenced by what they see and share around here.”
Anyone is welcome to attend the open day on 17 October from 10 am at 43 Mitchell St, Mornington.
You can find out more information about the garden and membership options at: dig-it-garden.weebly.com.
First published in the Mornington News – 29 September 2026
