Austinmer local Imogen Ross is set to show visitors around her verge garden as part of the Edible Garden Trail hosted by Food Fairness Illawarra.
This year's event, on November 9 and 10, will give local gardening enthusiasts the chance to visit 31 gardens across the Illawarra.
"Last year, this was one of the few gardens that was publicly accessible," Imogen says.
Imogen’s garden, next to the railway underpass near Hilldale Walk, is a collaborative space created and maintained by Imogen and her neighbours.
"People can come and visit my garden anytime they want, but during the Edible Garden Trail, I'll be there all day to answer questions and to welcome people."
The Illawarra Edible Garden Trail welcomes all kinds of growing spaces, from backyard veggie patches, to balcony, verge or community gardens.
“When I moved to the area from Sydney, I had been doing community gardens, guerrilla gardening and verge gardening in Sydney for some time, inspired by Chippendale’s Michael Mobbs. At that time, there wasn’t a great deal of public-space gardening happening down here,” Imogen says.
“So, I started planting vegetables, herbs and fruit trees out onto the verge like I had in Sydney, and when I ran out of space, I started planting out onto the railway verge around the corner.”
For the past 10 years Imogen has been slowly planting an evolving food forest across the road from her home, on land that is partly owned by Wollongong Council and Transport for NSW.
"Guerrilla gardening attracts people who garden without boundaries: people who garden in public spaces. It suits young people, folks who are tenants and those who don't 'own' land.”
Imogen’s garden is part of a trend in community gardening. As home ownership becomes less accessible, community and verge gardening opens up opportunities for connection and food security.
"I have been a professional theatre designer and educator for 30 years,” Imogen says.
“When I became a mum, I decided to take a short break from theatre and got into community gardening. It’s changed my life and my practice.”
Imogen is now a practising ecoscenographer, a set and costume designer who works in tandem with nature and the non-human world.
Like many Illawarra residents, her love of gardening flourished during the pandemic.
“I got to meet the whole neighbourhood during the Covid shutdowns while I was gardening on the verge,” Imogen says.
“During that time, we set up a sculpture garden called Utensiltown. Other suburbs had Spoonville, but I thought there were more utensils than spoons in the drawer! So you can join Utensiltown whether you identify as a spoon or not.”
Utensiltown is a whimsical pocket of Imogen’s verge garden that is home to discarded kitchen utensils of all kinds. The neighbourhood children have helped to decorate and personalise the homewares before moving them into the tiny utopia of Utensiltown.
“We’ve written the words ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ on our pillars. All utensils are welcome here,” Imogen says.
Imogen looks forward to welcoming gardening enthusiasts and their families to her verge on Sunday, 10th November. She will be unavailable on Saturday, as she will be exploring the Edible Garden Trail herself.
“Last year I met so many other garden kooks; all these fun, interesting people who love gardening and use it as a way to communicate and to connect,” Imogen says.
"It's a really fun weekend to spend with multi-generations."
The Illawarra Edible Garden Trail is on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th November from 10am-3pm. Tickets are $25 for people 17 years old+, and $15 for concession passes. Tickets are available through Humanitix. Garden addresses and maps will be emailed to ticket holders one week prior to the event.