The emerging Gargarro Regional Botanic Garden adjoins the township of Girgarre, a tiny village in northern Victoria. This ambitious project has been nurtured and is maintained by the local community. A Masterplan for the garden, undertaken by renowned landscape architect Taylor Cullity Lethlean, was enthusiastically embraced by residents in 2013. The first stage was opened to the public in May 2023.
The patchwork nature of Girgarre’s agricultural hinterland is captured in the design, as is the importance of water, both for agriculture and the natural environment. An ephemeral stream separates an open parkland area from the more formal section of Gargarro, which will feature five sensory gardens, each separated by a tree-lined avenue. Completion of the first stage of the garden has seen the construction of an amphitheatre and soundshell, the parkland area, ephemeral stream and the first of the sensory gardens, the SEE garden. Later stages will include the addition of the SMELL, TOUCH, TASTE and LISTEN gardens. There will eventually be 8 hectares of garden; stage one comprises 4 hectares.
Gargarro is an Australian native garden. Landscape architect TCL has designed a garden that is bold and beautiful, even in its infancy. Species have been selected that will cope with climate change, although a bountiful supply of irrigation water is available.
A bespoke two storey café adjoins the garden in an idyllic setting and is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday. The Friends of Gargarro have also established a nursery on site which is open to the public on Thursday and Saturday for plant sales, both native and exotic. The Friends also offer guided tours of the garden for interested groups.
Adjoining the botanic garden is a seed orchard (which ensures continuity of seed supply for endemic species of acacia and calytrix for the local Catchment Management Authority) and a plantation of five different eucalypts. The latter is a collaboration with the Kyabram Fauna Park (now Zoos Victoria) and is harvested regularly for the park’s koalas.
Please visit https://www.gargarrobotanicgarden.com.au for more details.
