BCFG
(Ballan Community Friendship Garden)
We’ll show you a garden where more than plants grow,
We’ll Show you a garden that’s not just for show,
And we’ll show you a garden that’s so much alive,
Where friendships and artwork together survive.
Here in this garden, there’s no limit on age,
No limit on background, we’re on the same page,
Where we learn from each other about gardens and art,
A culture of mateship, that should never depart.
We encourage recycling, a sustainable show,
Using compost and horse poo, to make the plants grow,
We share excess produce, where ever there’s need
and ask a small payment to buy new plants and seed.
We welcome new members to join in the fun,
Bringing gardening ideas to help the place run,
The BCF Garden is open to all,
So come on and join in, you might have a ball.
(We welcome you all)
ATTENTION: We want You!
Are you a keen photographer? Or do you just like gardens? We want you to send your photos of the Ballan Community Friendship Garden. Send your photos to ballancfg@gmail.com. We will aim to post as many of your photos as we can in the slideshow below:
This Week at the Ballan CFG: 23rd July 2015, Photos by Deb Burvill
The work continues on the Sensory garden. The centre of the sensory garden is levelled for the paving. Fixing up the fencing in the corner of the sensory garden.
Ballan Community Friendship Garden 
What a Wonderful Opportunity – right here in Ballan!!!! Web Site is Awesome and looking forward to all the gardening adventures ahead 🙂
Just wanted to also say a Huge ‘Thank-You’ to Jessie who dropped some horse straw at the garden last Sunday. I really enjoyed mulching the beds with it! Awesome aromas – it took me right back to my horsey childhood!
Glad you enjoyed mulching smelly straw, it was good of Jessie to drop it off at the garden. I had a comment from my old Boss at HSV that the garden reminded him of the “Dig for Victory” gardens at the end of WW2. Cheeky devil.
Hi Guys,
Started work on the site for the water tanks, should have the area ready before new years and ready for delivery of the tanks on 17th Jan, if the cash is in the bank by then. What a ripper, “We are making progress”.
Happy new Gardening Year to all, if I don’t see you before NYE.
Cheers,
David
Visiting from the UK, I was very impressed with the work being done at the Community Garden. The gathering of people in a common cause and the friendships made with the bonus of practical results was such a pleasure to witness,
Very best of success for the future.. Margaret Black – see you all again tomorrow!
Thanks for the kind words Margaret, it was fantastic to see you Elaine and Graham visit the garden. A million thanks to you for the Web Page photo’s and to Graham for the hard work he did mowing and tidying up the Playgroup garden area.
The team were wrapped to see you all and thanks to Glenys for the NYE sparklers and Icy poles, very refreshing.
A Happy New Year to all Garden group members and visitors.
Cheers,
David
Congrats to all involved in the garden project it’s absolutely brilliant even though I am the daughter of one of the founding members my kids beg me to go visit granddad all the time just so they can go to the garden and they haven’t even planted anything yet. Zoe and Toby want to pick the right plant that last ages so they can come back and look after it, none of this short lived veggie stuff. Note from the mouths of babes. Job well done
Fantastic effort by all concerned. We are very proud of the garden. Watch out my pumpkins don’t take over. Keep up the good work, regards Gary
Thanks Ben and Kathy, the update to the Web Page front sheet adds a real WOW factor and serves to highlight the location of the garden with it’s links to the Uniting Church. Hope everyone enjoys and participates in communicating through the Web Page.
Thank you so much to everyone involved in setting up this community garden and allowing the Ballan Playgroup be part of it. The kids have had a great time planting items in their garden plot and watching the plants grow. Thank you so much.
Hi Tanya,
It’s a pleasure to have the Kids and Mums from the Playgroup involved, you have no idea how it lifts the spirits of us old timers to see the kids enjoying the garden and playing with the puppies.
Your garden plot has gone crazy, I suggest that you and some of the mums get down to the garden and pick some of your bountiful crop or it will go to waste. We have allowed some of the ladies from the arts and craft group take some vegies from our garden plots and some from yours, hope that’s OK.
Cheers,
David
If you are down in Darley, visit the Darley Community Art Garden in Holts Lane, next to the Baptist Church. You can see info on the garden at http://darleycommunityartgarden.blogspot.com
Thanks for the comment Nichole, great to see others getting involved and having fun through community gardening.
I guess that like us at the Ballan Community Friendship Garden, the first few months are hard work getting everything set up and established, but well worth the effort in the end.
One of my daughters is about to commence building a new home in Darley and I will be on site during construction on a regular basis. This should give me plenty of oportunity to drop in for a visit.
Cheers, David
The Community Garden Web page looks great. Thanks to Glenys and Deb for their photographic contributions and to Kathy for her continuous updates.
Had a great Email from Dylan Trickey, a young bloke who wants to help out at the garden and we all look forward to him joining in and hope that his work helps out with his school assignment. Well done Dylan hope to see you soon.
Also had a visit from Tanya, inviting the Garden Group to the Playgroup AGM and morning tea on Tuesday, great to catch up with all the kids and mums, boy has the Playgroup grown in numbers. We are all looking forward to the kids returning to the Garden when the weather warms up. Fiona told us that the Playgroup kids have a new garden group “The little Grubs” and is making up some garden signs for them to place on their spring garden.
Cheers and well done to all.
David
Great photo,s Deb, also proud of the work that you and the team did tidying up the church gardens. Makes a great entry to the Community Friendsihp Garden.
The web site has the “wow” factor. Thank-you Kathy.
To the man of many talents, thank you so much.
Keep up the good work Bill, hope you settle well into Gnomesville when you get to Perth.
Good way to finish off on a Tuesday at the BCFG.
Thank you Sandra for organising the morning tea.
Many thanks to Jen and Stu Turnham for the new line trimmer, what a beaut and the chiminea to keep us olds nice and warm at the garden when the winter months arrive, also thanks to Mark for donating his time to help out Jen and Stu, prompting the donation to the Garden.
Cheers and all the best to all.
David
Thanks to all who commented on the BCF Garden Poem, glad that it hit has the it has hit the nail on the head. A pleasure to write it for you.
Cheers,
David
Your donation was very much appreciated.
Thank you Billy for thinking of the BCFG.
Sharing is caring amongst friends.
The apples will be put to good use by the BCFG members.
Thank you Jo & Nick.
Glad to see your friends Jo, Nick and Billy getting involved in the garden through donating to the Garden group members. Knowing you guys, you will put them to good use.
Cheers,
David
A huge “THANK YOU” to Deepani, Jim & Mark for the materials you have donated to the BCFG Meeting Place.
A huge “THANK YOU” to Nick & Jodie from the BCFG members for donating the posts for our new verandah.
What a wonderful result!! Well done David and all involved in transforming the storage shed into a wonderful space for more people to come and further enjoy the surrounds.
Thanks for the encouragement Bruce, the old shed turned out OK for all to use. The thanks should go to all who helped me in the construction but also to all those folks who donated materials and cash to the project. The Meeting room is being well used and used well, even before it is properly finished.
Enjoy and all the very best.
Whilst we are in the thanking mood, we need to say a very big thanks to Kathy our Blog master, the Web page looks great and always up to date. Well done Kate.
The new sensory garden area is coming along nicely, great effort by all the garden folks. Thanks to Jenny and Glenys for the idea. It will be a great place for all of the groups who use the church grounds to meet and relax.
Cheers,
David
Except for some of the planting out, the Sensory Garden is complete and looking good and now that all of the infrastructure in the Community Friendship Garden is completed, it is time for me to move on to other things.
A lot has been achieved by the group in the two years since the garden’s conception and for the most part it has been a lot of fun establishing it.
I wish the garden and the garden group every success into the future and will keep abreast of your achievements via the web Page.
Cheers,
David