Autumn is traditionally the season of plenty, and local group Armidale Local Food (part of Sustainable Living Armidale) has found a unique way to celebrate this abundance by organising a garden tour with a difference.

Held over the weekend of March 6-7, ALF’s Home Grown Garden Tour will give visitors an opportunity to see ten productive backyard food gardens, ranging from the long-established, featuring a wide variety of fruits, berries and other perennials, to very new gardens demonstrating just how much can be achieved in a single growing season. Raised veggie beds, chook tractors and swales are just some of the features to be seen, as well as several homes which have extended their use of solar energy beyond veggie growing to supplying their own solar hot water or electricity.
Of particular interest is the tracking system at one property which allows the solar panel array to follow the path of the sun throughout the day for maximum efficiency. The system was installed as part of the New England Sustainability Strategy’s ‘Farming the Sun’ project and is the first of its kind in this region.
Now in its second year, the Home Grown Garden Tour provides visitors with a welcome opportunity to meet and share knowledge and ideas with others.
With so many different styles of gardening on show there is something for everyone, and even old hands might learn a thing or two. “Everyone had a great time on last year’s tour” said Paul Kristiansen, one of the organisers. “People commented on how friendly everyone was, and
many went away inspired to start their own veggie garden or try
out some new idea they had seen on the tour.”
Anyone wishing to join the tour can purchase a tour booklet from the Armidale Visitors’ Centre (6772 4655) on Marsh St. The cost is $30 per car (getting a group together shares the cost) or just $10 for those who choose to do the tour on a bicycle (all gardens are situated within the town boundary). The booklet includes a map and information about all the gardens on show.