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Open Gardens Australia has finished its final season of gardening openings, leading to its closure at the end of June 2015. Big crowds at many gardens over the past few months showed that there are still many people keen to visit open gardens.
Open Gardens Australia’s CEO Liz White says that she hopes that OGA has left a legacy that will encourage garden owners to continue sharing their gardens with others. OGA has published a comprehensive Garden Opening Kit (which you can find HERE on GardenDrum).
Thousands of volunteers have contributed to OGA over its 28 year history: opening their own gardens, working as selectors, serving on organising committees, fund raising, and helping out at garden openings. OGA’s few but dedicated paid staff have often worked way beyond their budgeted time to ensure garden openings went smoothly. It’s a sad time for many.
OGA’s records have been catalogued and donated to the State Library of Victoria, with over 18,000 digital images, 3,500 garden notes from around Australia, operational and governance records and a full set of OGA guidebooks from 1987 to 2015.
There are a number of events scheduled in the coming weeks to commemorate this great national organisation. An Open Gardens Australia Garden to be built at the National Arboretum in Canberra will be a lasting legacy. Ten of Australia’s top landscape designers have been invited to submit proposals for the 500m² garden, with the selected designer to be announced on 27 June 2015.
OGA CEO Liz White says:
“OGA has played a huge role in inspiring creativity and establishing a sharing, passionate, enthusiastic gardening community in this country. It is very apt that this be recognised through the creation of a living landscape, embracing all of OGA’s core values – diversity, creativity, sustainability and, most of all, sharing and inclusiveness.”
Two state-based organisations have been established to continue opening gardens: Open Gardens Victoria and Open Gardens SA Inc, plus the paid open garden listing service My Open Garden.
[Click here for more about why OGA is closing]
