“On 27th May 2017 we were allocated our plot. That day was the most blessed day of our gardening life!

We rejoiced. We were allocated a plot fully overgrown with couch grass and pumpkin plant all over.”

I love sticking my fingers in the dirt, either weeding, or crushing the dirt between my fingers or putting in seeds or seedlings in the ground, watching it to grow. Especially growing veggies of any kind. I love gardening very much.

However, when I first came to Australia, I realised that there wasn’t much gardening space around the property where I lived. There wasn’t much sunny spot for gardening either.

I started gardening in plastic pots from Bunnings, to plant chillies seeds. Which still growing in our parking area against the wall. From there I filled up polystyrene boxes to plant tomatoes.

It was that time, when the tomatoes plants need stakes that I picked twigs from the park while coming home from picking our mail from the post office, I met a man. His name was Greg, a Greek man, who happened to be one of the first original of the Collingwood gardening community. He asked me what I am doing with those twigs. I said, “… to stake my tomato plants.” So, conversation struck, about gardening. He told me if I was interested in gardening and having no space to garden, I could apply for a gardening plot in the Collingwood Community Garden since I lived around the Yarra council. And he went on telling me how to go about it. “Go to the Farm office, ask for Toni or Alex if you can apply for a plot in the community garden. Put in your application and regularly check on the updates. If you regularly appear at the office, showing that you badly need a gardening space, they might have the sense that you are serious about gardening. You have to be aware and be patient that you might have to wait for a long time before you can get one.” I did exactly as he advised. Every week, sometimes twice a week, I would ask the reception desk about the status of my application. After 4 months….

On 27th May 2017 we were allocated our plot. That day was the most blessed day of our gardening life! It was indeed a real blessing and an answer to our prayers.

We rejoiced. We were allocated a plot fully overgrown with couch grass and pumpkin plant all over. We cleared and cleaned the plot, dug the couch inch by inch every day for two weeks. We enjoyed the progress of the plot. We also enjoyed picking self-sown veggies in the plot as we go along, we ate like kings.

Throughout the years, we were very happy with our productive plot. Our garden produces fed us very well. Far more then we can eat for ourselves. We planted almost any veggies and beans we can get. Like, asparagus, silver beet, salad lettuces, garlic, spring onions, leek, celery, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, beetroot, carrots, radishes, climbing beans, magic beans, snake beans, snow peas, broad beans, cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini, parsnips, brassicas veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, Asian greens, sweet corn, raspberries, rhubarb, chilies, tomatoes, many more other kinds of herbs. How can one not be a very happy gardener when almost any plant planted happily growing, coming out so lusciously healthy and colourful and plentiful!

Most of the produces we shared with fellow gardeners who don’t have the same produce as us. Or have not been successful at their planting. Our produce, we shared it around with our family members, church members, friends, neighbours and with random people, little kids in the public who looked longingly or admiring our loaded basket with produces coming out from the garden. It gave us so much joy and the joy of sharing was another level of satisfaction when you make people smiled and happy with appreciation. Around in our neighbourhood, we had several elderly and home bound people, the nuns in the corner and individuals that have MS who become our regular receiver of our produces. Genuinely needy people stopped receiving fresh produce when we were suddenly locked out of our garden. Our own fresh food stopped too.

Monthly working bee was a time we looked forward very much to. Specially to see, meet our friends whom we would not meet often in the garden, because they come at different time of the day than we do. It was always great time working together. There would be time we would bring food to share with our hardworking tired working bees after hard works. These sharing of food and talking and enjoy working, spending time with other gardeners always brought tremendous joy to us. Exercises to our body and relaxing to our mental and spiritual wellness meant so much. Therefore, building trust and developing genuine friendship as we went along together. We were all just humble happy gardeners. Sharing knowledge, tips and simple tricks in gardening were always fun for me.

Being new to Australia, away from the rest of my family, I only had my husband. I found myself very lonely many times. But having had the garden, I spent a lot of time doing what I loved doing with plants and God’s good earth, it is giving back food from the toil of our hands. Meeting other gardeners and making new friends who share the same passion as I do, was very helpful. I finally found a place I called “where I felt so belong” and appreciated as part of in our community. Thank you everyone. I love you all so much.

Helping other plotters watering their plot in summer while on holiday was part of the joy and service, we shared in the garden too. We have been watering, looking after another plotter’s plot for few months while she had to look after her husband just diagnosed with tumour, and while they were locked out in the countryside. They were a time around Christmas, we found ourselves watering 5 plots, including the CWA plot next to us, to take care of the plants. Cleaning and weeding, looking after another man’s plot, when he had a hip replacement because he could not get down to the plot. January 2021, another plotter must go back to Vietnam, to take care of a poorly sister that had a bad fall and needed operation. She asked me to water her garden while she would be away for three months. Which turned out to be a year before she could return to Australia because of covid. Throughout the time she was away, 3 times I had to climb into her plot to weed it. This kind of community consciousness made it more meaningful for us being part of this beautiful community.

The garden became an educational place to little children. Coming down with their parents, picking food, pulling weeds, digging soil, sowing seeds or planting seedling into the ground, watering it and see it growing, later picking the produce for dinner would be a very progressive experiences so they can see where their food comes from. And the joy of watching how little kids of our friends or any random visitors to the plot, how they could pick raspberries from the vine and watching their eyes lit up with explosive flavour in their mouth. I would invite kids coming into our plot to pick beans, sweet bite tomatoes, where they can just pop it in their mouths and enjoy the real taste of fresh food. Showing them how caterpillars devouring veggies before their eyes. Watching ladybird chewing the aphids on the plants, watching how slugs enjoying eating veggies to their heart content. These simple and real experiences would be so beneficial to our community of all ages and work of life.

Came covid 2020, it made life very hard for us all. But the wonderful thing was we were still able to come back to our garden for food and exercise where we can still interact with other gardeners still observing our social distancing. Throughout that year, within 3 months, we had 3 deaths within our family, our beloved neighbour and 2 of our gardening friends - 6 people in all - also passed away. We mourned and grieved our losses. However, going down to the garden did really help to make me sane. The garden meant so much more than any money can buy. Valued and priceless. And we are very appreciative of the garden being open to us then.

May last year, we were shocked! That the garden was suddenly locked without prior notice and consultation of the community for whatever reasons. Until the President of CCF announced in a zoom meeting that it was locked indefinitely due to safety reasons! Here we are still mourning our losses. The level of grievances to different plotters and pain carried sleepless night and tears for our lost could be describe in plain words. It was felt. Now they are bulldozing our community garden.