My kids love rubbing lavender between their hands and smelling the perfume
“Gardening is an act of faith in the future” the sign reads at the entrance to Veg Out, Saint Kilda’s organic community garden. Saint Kilda has long been famous for sex and drugs so a public demonstration of faith in the future by the individuals and community groups that tend more than 140 plots in the gardens is poignant.
Veg Out Saint Kilda
What would you plant to demonstrate an act of faith in your own future? Flowers, vegetables, herbs? Meandering among the community plots of Veg Out we saw that faith displayed in a beautiful hodge podge of color and art. As you would expect, there were vegie gardens and flower plots, but we also saw cactus gardens, hen houses, guinea pig enclosures and sculpture gardens. There is an open communality to the garden, plots are bordered by low lying barriers making it perfect for kids to run from one discovery to another.
For children, the drawcard of Saint Kilda is Luna Park and it was actually from the top of Luna Park’s ferris wheel that I first spied Veg Out. While there were initial groans from the kids, still on a sugar high after an afternoon of fairy floss and Luna Park rides when I told them we were going to visit a garden, that stopped the second we entered the gates.
Veg Out Saint Kilda
Although created (by the Port Phillip Council) for adults you would be mistaken for thinking Veg Out is specifically for children. There is a sandpit with toys, free barbecues and a kitchen for families to use, and stroller parking. Many of the gardeners have gone to special efforts to make their plots appeal to kids – there is a pirate ship shaped plot for example. Art works include mosaics, sculptures and murals.
We would have missed this treasure of a place if we had only been visiting Saint Kilda on a day trip instead of a staycation. Our enjoyment of it is really testimony to the power of exploring a location on foot, going beyond the major tourist attractions and seeking meeting places for the local community when traveling.
As for me, if I tended a garden plot that demonstrated faith in the future it would be a simple vegie garden because it would mean I had faith that my children would actually eat some.
On the first Saturday of every month between 8.30 am and 1pm there is a farmers market on Chaucer Street right behind Veg Out.
Veg Out community garden is located at the corner of Shakespeare Grove & Chaucer Street, St Kilda (behind Acland St, near Luna Park).
Those of you wishing to peer back the veneer and understand Saint Kilda’s community may want to read the book “Finding God In St Kilda” by World Vision Australia’s current CEO Tim Costello.
We were hosted on our Saint Kilda Staycation by Novotel Saint Kilda.
