
Last weekend I was delighted to speak to a regional gathering of gardeners between Walgett and Carinda, NSW. People came from Lightning Ridge, Yeoval, Moree, Cobar and Cumnock to visit Loretta’s rural garden. As we sat in the shade of almost century old Queensland bottle trees, we heard how garden owner Loretta had lost three gardens to drought but had used the experiences to create more durable replacements.

Women in Agriculture and North West Plains Sustainability Group organised this event in a region greatly affected by the worst drought in living memory.

My challenge was sharing knowledge of and experiences with sustainable gardening solutions in extreme environments and how best to establish new gardens in the region’s current conditions.

I took a range of twenty climate appropriate plant species from my garden for people to trial, such as Cuban frangipani (Plumeria filifolia) and Ombu, aka Beautiful shade (Phytolacca dioica) and Burn jelly plant (Bulbine frutescens). After all, when there’s more carbon dioxide pollution in our atmosphere than has ever existed since humans evolved, all life on Earth is now experimental. So why not experiment?
At the end of the gathering, the most exciting thing happened: they want to form their own regional gardening club.
What a fantastic result!

Jerry Coleby-Williams
Director, Seed Savers’ Network Inc.
Patron, National Toxics Network Inc.
16th April 2019