Shepherds Bush Community Garden (Glen Waverley)

The Friends of Dandenong Valley Parklands manage two gardens in the grounds of the Parks Victoria depot at Shepherds Road in Glen Waverley.

An Indigenous Garden which showcases native plants suited to suburban gardens in the local area. This is an established garden with a wide variety of species indigenous to the area. Friends' activities include planting, weeding and general maintenance of the garden. Most of our plants are propagated on site at our nursery facility.

A Community Garden which was set up in 2008, aims to encourage local involvement and participation in a park gardening program providing social interaction, physical activity and learning about the environment, food provision, gardening and horticulture which can be put into practice at home. The garden which is now well established encourages community groups to participate in the program and aims to increase knowledge and benefits of native plants in gardens (including attracting native wildlife) and to improve knowledge of alternative garden techniques and sustainable gardening.

The Community Garden has a number of themed gardens including a Daisy Garden, a Butterfly Garden and a Bush Foods Garden.

Both gardens are open for visitors at any time.

Working bees are held on the first Sunday of every month from 10am - 12 noon.

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The gardens are located on the site of the Parks Victoria depot and there is car parking, toilets and picnic tables near the gardens. The road cuts through the gardens which are on both sides. There are plenty of information signs and the trees and bushes are labelled.

The Shepherds Bush Bicycle & Walking Trail runs along the western side of the gardens and the Dandenong Creek Trail is about 450m away to the east.

The main sign at the entrance has the following information:

The indigenous garden was started by the Friends of Dandenong Valley Parklands in 1992 when the northern end and the car park beds were developed and revegetated with plants of the Dandenong Creek Valley. In 1998 with the support of Parks Victoria the gardens were extended southward from the original plantings to Shepherd Road. This extension incorporated some existing natural areas such as the large Eucalypts which are habitat for native birds and animals.

The objective of the garden is to demonstrate how plants local to the area respond in a natural environment without being watered and to encourage the use of indigenous plants in home gardens. The Shepherds Bush Community Garden was established in 2008 as part of a State Labor Government initiative. Parks Victoria is working towards, connecting communities and their parks by delivering more activities. The development and operation of the Garden is undertaken by a group of community volunteers. The community Garden group operates with the Friends of Dandenong Valley Parklands.

The Community garden offers:

The chance for you and your family to be a part of developing the garden.
Information about Australian Natives and how they can grow and look in suburban backyards.
A chance to share your gardening knowledge and experience with other local residents.
Opportunities to meet and socialise with new people.
Chances to learn about propagating and growing native plants.
Social group outings.

Development and Direction of the Gardens
Using primarily Australian native plants, the Shepherds Bush Community Garden provides opportunity for practical learning about Australian native bush foods, shrubs and flowers suitable for use in suburban gardens. Individuals and community groups are encouraged to participate.

The first plantings were undertaken in September 2008 at the entrance to the Gardens. Construction of five raised beds was undertaken in 2009 and the group planted out three. The two remaining beds are reserved for Community groups supporting people with disabilities.

Development of the garden bed concepts, themes and plantings has continued since that time. In 2010, the first Community Group (SCOPE - A not-for-profit organisation providing disability services throughout Victoria to children and adults with disabilities) became involved adopting a raised bed.

The Community Gardens group continues to work towards improving the garden with possible expansion. Ample opportunity exists for group adoption of beds, new raised beds and the introduction of new themes within the overall Garden objectives.

Everyone is welcome to join the Community Gardens group. Please feel free to contact us for any further information about the project or how you can get involved in the continuing development of this garden for all visitors to enjoy. Phone the Parks Victoria information Line on 13 1963 and ask for the Shepherd Road depot.

Other information signs are:

Welcome to our Indigenous Garden
Around 100 species of native plants, indigenous to this area are flourishing in this garden. Indigenous plants have adapted to their local environment and are usually low maintenance and drought tolerant once established. Australian birds and other native life such as lizards, frogs, butterflies and bees are also encouraged into the garden.

These plants are propagated from seeds and cuttings by the Friends of Dandenong Valley Parklands ensuring an ongoing supply of these species.

The display garden helps visitors to learn about local native plants and encourages their use in home gardens. Some to be seen here are the ground hugging dichondra, native violets, orchids, correas, wattles and the taller eucalypts. All plants have a special attraction for various types of native wildlife.

The Friends of Dandenong Valley Parkland look after the garden and work in it on the first Sunday of every month (except January). Why not join us?

Shepherd Road garden
This bed contains a selection of native grasses and flowering pants variously suitable for open and/or more difficult soil environments.

Plants with spring and summer flowering flushes include Goodenia, Brachycomes and daisies. These plants may sporadically produce flowers over the rest of the year, too.

The correas and small hakeas in the bed are mainly autumn and winter flowering. The prostrate wattles on the lower banks are winter and spring flowering. Plants with spring flowering flushes include the dianellas, indigoferas and at the rear of the bed, the climbing hardenbergias. The tufted plants and grasses include carex, lomandra, danthonia and poas. Apart from watering at planting time, none of the plants have been watered or fertilized. However, most of the larger plants benefit from annual pruning to shape them and to promote flowering.

Cut Flower Garden
The plants in this bed are smaller native shrubs suitable for cut flowers and floral art as well as for urban domestic gardens. Characteristics of good cut flower plants include those with long stemmed colourful flowers and an extended vase life.

Another characteristic that is very useful in floral art is interesting and varied foliage, which you will notice in a number of these plants. Reflecting the natural seasonality of most Australian natives, many of the plants are winter and spring flowering, such as the thryptomenes, croweas, pimileas (Rice Flowers) and philothecas (Wax Flowers). There are, however, a number of summer and early autumn flowering plants. Some of these include Yellow Everlasting Daises, various Kangaroo Paws, and varieties of smaller banksias and grevilleas.

These plants generally require good sunshine and well drained, mulched soil with many benefiting from annual pruning to promote flowering and maintain shape. Apart from the grevilleas and banksias most of these plants may be propagated from cuttings.

Bush Foods Garden
This raised bed is populated with a variety of smaller native bush food plants which, subject to the warning below, are all suitable for culinary use. All may be readily cultivated in local domestic gardens. Included in this bed are Australian native River Mint bushes (Mentha australis), Vanilla Lilies (Arthropodium milleflorum), Lemon Myrtles (Backhousia citriodora), Muntries (Kunzea pomifera) and Mountain Peppers (Tasmannia lanceolatal.

Tea may be made from the River Mint and Lemon Myrtle, the berries from the Muntries may be eaten and with cooking, the tubers of the Vanilla Lilies may be consumed. Interestingly, both the leaves and the fruits of the Tasmanian Peppers can be used as a food source. Generally these plants require partial shade and deeper, well-mulched soil to prevent drying out.

Warning: Care must be taken with all bush food plants, as only particular parts of the plants in specific seasons or stages of maturity are suitable for human consumption. It is not advised to prepare bush foods without advice from an expert.

Cottage Garden
This raised bed contains a selection of smaller colourful and showy-cottage garden shrubs. Specimens include those native to Western Australia or Queensland, and some which are generally prevalent in the south eastern states. Climatically suitable for your local gardens, they are bound to provide extra colour and texture around your homes. Examples include Flame Peas, eremophilas (Emu Bushes), Fringed Everlasting Daises and Darwinia citriodora. The background climber is a hardenbergia (Native Wisteria).

To assist with good drainage, the soil composition of this bed is a 50/50 soil/sand mixture which is a requirement for a number of these species. Sunshine is also required for their health and annual pruning is beneficial to encourage a mass of flowing and to maintain shape. Most of these plants will also readily grow in pots.

Sensory Garden
The sensory garden seeks to showcase plants, suitable for the home garden, which are attractive primarily for their non-visual, and unusual sensory attributes. These plants may look fairly plain but try touching and smelling them. A number are soft but with quite different touch sensations. Tactile plants include the taller Albany Woollybush (Adenanthos sericaus) and the spreading low growing 'Grey Ghost' (Zieria littoralis). Interestingly, the background Native Jasmine climbers (Jasminum simplicifolium) provide a different perfume to the citrus scent common to many Australian natives.

In one of the front corners of the bed, you will find Grass Leaved Trigger Plants (Stylidium graminifolium), which in summer are covered with small pink flowers. They have an unusual pollination process that provides rapid visual action. If you look closely, the small flower column when triggered will spring closed on top of an insect, leaving the pollen on their back. Shrubs will benefit from annual pruning and most species may be grown in pots.

Shepherds Bush Community Garden (Glen Waverley)

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