Before
Just a bare patch of sand with some dead grass, along the path between the local shops and the oval. Grey sand, so typical of the Perth coastal plain. Dry grey sand, devoid of any nutrients or water-holding capacity.
A few kids ride their bikes onto the sand, hoping for a shortcut to the oval. They quickly get bogged and have to hop off and push their bikes.
Further along, some pink and grey galahs scratch at a few stalks of onion grass. A Djitti Djitti (Willie Wagtail) flitters about, hoping to find a morsel in the scratchings of the galahs.
Several large Flooded Gum trees sway in the breeze peppering the grey sand with gum leaves.
2025, Saturday 24th May
A tall hedge of pink Bottlebrush lines the path between the local shops and the oval. A break in the hedge reveals a gate, and through the gate, nestled under the large Flooded Gum trees lies Willetton Community Garden.
This Saturday the garden is looking ‘spick and span’, with leaves raked and grass trimmed. It is full of people and a merry chatter fills the space, along with the smell of pumpkin soup, and pea and ham soup, and other delicacies.
It is our ten year anniversary celebration!
Founding members from the first few years of the garden reminisce about building the first raised garden beds using old garage doors and recycled materials. The large compost bays were made using donated bricks, some of the sheds were generous donations too. Funding for other infrastructure was sourced through various grants.
There was no power or water on site, just the vision and determination of those first gardeners to see a garden and a community grow.
Current members point out the variety of vegetables growing in the garden: Kohl Rabi, Bitter Melon, snake beans, daikon and Asian greens grow alongside the more traditional vegies like spinach, silverbeet, lettuce, tomatoes and beans. Our current membership reflects the cultural diversity of the surrounding community and we enjoy learning about different plants from other parts of the world and how to harvest and cook them.
We share about the current challenges of climate change, the longer hotter summers and the shorter warmer winters. Water is also becoming a very precious resource. We debate the best ways to garden productively in these times and have had workshops with the experts in the horticulture business.
Today, thanks to modern technology (and a few more grants), we have solar power and reticulation on site, but we still need vision and determination to be a thriving community of gardeners that grow healthy and nutritious food in ways that are sustainable.
Some grey sand is still visible between the raised beds.
Some pink and grey galahs fly down to the birdbaths. A Djitti Djitti flitters about, hoping to find a tasty morsel from the freshly turned soil.
And the large Flooded Gum trees sway in the breeze, peppering the garden beds with gum leaves.
Want to see how far we’ve come? Visit our About page to read about the garden’s 10-year journey.