Bulleen Art & Garden -

Save BAAG from the North East Link!

May 022019

The next stage of the North East Link planning process, the Environmental Effects Statement is out now, and BAAG is still within the designated project area and therefore under threat.

We really want to continue to operate on this site, supporting local artists and as a hub for our local community. We need to convince the EES panel that it is worth redesigning the construction compound so that we can stay and continue.

BAAG has been operating from this site for over 50 years, and under the current family ownership for 35 years. We are proud to be an integral part of the local community, and our approach is driven by a continued commitment to nurturing creativity and sustainability. We strive to inspire, enable and educate our community to live in a more environmentally sustainable way.

How can you help us?

Since the North East Link was first announced, and it became clear that BAAG could be lost, we have been humbled by how many times our customers, suppliers and wider community have asked “How can we help?”

Right now, the best thing to do is to make a submission in response to the Environmental Effects Statement. Even a couple of lines of support will help. These submissions must be received by 5pm Friday 6th June. You can make your submission at https://engage.vic.gov.au/north-east-link-project. Let them know why YOU think BAAG is important!

You can find out more about the EES at https://northeastlink.vic.gov.au/environment/environment-effects-statement-ees, although you may not get through the whole 10,000 page document!

Citrus has arrived!

Tagged with: Citrus, Fruit General Information, mobile

May 212019

Citrus has arrived! Lemons, limes, oranges, blood oranges, mandarins, cumquats, finger limes, grapefruit, citron and tangelo are all now in stock. (We also received a bunch of persimmon (non-astringent only) and olives). Most varieties are available in either dwarf or full size.

New Exhibition – Treefern Potters

Tagged with: Gallery, mobile

May 152019

Greg Yeaman, Deb Staun, Deanna Roberts, Steve Burton, Anne Watling, Meredith Merrall, Linda Moore and Aleida Wright

26th April to 1st June, 2019

The Treefern Potters are a diverse group of ceramic artists with their origins in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. They came together through various pottery classes and community groups and they are bound by a common addiction to clay!

More pictures and info at http://gallery.baag.com.au/?p=4087

Pruning hydrangeas (Melbourne and Victoria)

Tagged with: Colourful Plants, Pruning Grafting & Planting

May 142019

Sharpen your secateurs and get stuck into one of the most rewarding shrubs to prune. Few shrubs respond as positively to pruning as hydrangeas; old woody and diseased hydrangeas turn into vigorous healthy flowering shrubs after a good rejuvenating prune.
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Benefits of being in the garden

Tagged with: mobile, Sustainable Living

May 122019

When I feel blue, or need a distraction from the stresses of life, I head into the garden! Time slows and my mood becomes lighter when my fingers are in the dirt and the intricacies of the world beyond my back door come to life before my eyes. There are many health benefits to be had from gardening. Here are a few of my favourites…

May in your garden

Tagged with: This month in your garden

Apr 302019

Autumn foliage at its most stunning. The cold days and nights bring out the deep reds, translucent oranges and butter yellows in our wonderful deciduous trees. Take the time to enjoy autumn’s late flowering salvias, wonderful quince fruit (with their heady scent) and savour the late season apples. Take a bolt to the Dandenongs and combine autumn colours with early flowering camellias. I just love this last hurrah before winter. So rug up and enjoy May in your garden!

Why your garden matters!

Tagged with: Australian Natives, Garden Design, Indigenous Plants, mobile, Sustainable Living

Apr 202019

Every garden is its own (or is a unique but connected) ecosystem containing an extraordinary array of living organisms including plants, fungi, bacteria, microbes, insects and animals that all impact on the health and resilience of the living network. We are each the stewards of our gardens, the actions that we take can positively or negatively impact on this ecosystem.
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BAAG at the 2019 Banyule Arty Farty Festival

Tagged with: mobile, Your Community

Apr 182019

Another day at the Arty Farty Festival in partnership with the Banyule Sustainability Hub where BAAG staff members Kat, Nicole and Amy did a workshop of how you can grow your seeds in pots made from old newspapers, and reducing waste overall by growing some of your herbs and vegies from seed. We love supporting this festival not only because it is out local community, but also because it is artistic, creative and fun!

Great to see lots of our friends down there who called over to say hello, and we made lots of new friends too, including Sam, who had the amazing Butterfly Adventure tent in a stall next to us.

Plant Tiles

Tagged with: Garden Design, Lawn Alternatives

Apr 172019

Plant tiles create stunning, alternative lawns and outdoor solutions instantly at half the cost of using traditional pots! Each tile covers the same area as ten traditional 100mm pots. As the plants grow, the roots bind the media together so that the Plant Tiles can be removed from the tray then laid on the area you have prepared. If required, simply cut to shape with scissors, then butt together and water in for complete coverage. Achieve full, green coverage instantly.
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Starting a gardening group

Tagged with: Edible Gardening Info, mobile, Sustainable Living, Your Community

Apr 122019

I love working in the garden. However when you have limited time and/or small children, sometimes the hard yakka you want to put into gardening is pushed down the list of priorities after changing nappies, making a kite, sticking feathers on a headband, doing the washing, walking to the playground…

So a few years ago my friend Ella and I started a fortnightly gardening group, to get our friends and their kids helping out in each other’s gardens – and finally do some of the things that had been waiting in line behind the nappies and feather headbands. We were also really conscious of how much our children loved helping in the garden, and we thought it would be a great environment for them to meet new friends and learn more about the earth!
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North East Link Updates

Tagged with: Your Community

Apr 102019

Thank you so much to the lovely family who dropped in these cards and flowers today in support of BAAG’s fight to remain on this site as the plans for the North East Link start to unfold. We are constantly touched by the level of support we get from our amazing customers!

Stay tuned here as things are starting to ramp up a little this week with regard to the North East Link plans. We will be updating this post as information is released. We may need you guys to help us again!

Marvellous Minibeasts – Free Workshop for Kids

Tagged with: Habitat Gardening, mobile, Your Community

Apr 092019

Join us in our bug tent on Tuesday the 16th between 11:30am and 1:30pm for our Marvellous Minibeasts program. Your kids will learn how to feed and handle stick insects, butterflies, giant litter bugs, yabbies and more. Children will also have the opportunity to catch aquatic minibeasts and view bugs up close with microscopes to discover bug features and adaptations.
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Renovating and sealing ceramic and terracotta garden pots

Tagged with: Hardware and Irrigation, Pots, Sustainable Living

Apr 012019

How to clean and disinfect old ceramic and terracotta garden pots

Given enough time, even the best quality ceramic and terracotta garden pots can be marred by mould, dirt stains, watermarks and efflorescence (the salty white bloom that you sometimes see on the outside of them). And those old garden pots that have been sitting by the front door or parked under the back veranda for years are sure to be showing their age. This is all well and good if you’re after that relaxed shabby-chic style or into the “distressed” look. But if you need to give them a good clean-up and want to return some of their former glory, help is at hand. If your pots have a salty white bloom on the outside, the best thing to do is brush it off with a dry scrubbing brush. Don’t use any water at this stage as it can cause the salts to be reabsorbed by the pot.

April in your garden

Tagged with: This month in your garden

Mar 272019

Our customer base is a pretty savvy and well informed one, and this is always reinforced in March and April as sales of native plants soar. Good gardeners are well aware that this is the ideal time to plant natives, and all of a sudden we are doubling orders for natives as they walk off the bench. The weather can still provide us with warm days in April, but without the hot sun and with rain happening or imminent it’s an ideal time for gardening and planting. Now is also the perfect time to start preparing your winter vegie patch. There’s plenty to do in the garden in April, so put summer behind you and get cracking!

Produce Gardening in Small Spaces

Tagged with: Edible Gardening Info, mobile

Mar 212019

We do not all have access to large sunny gardens or even any garden at all. If you would like to grow food at home but feel like you don’t have the room, help is at hand.

If you have a small garden, or even just a balcony, there are many ways to grow food, using raised beds, pots, window boxes and hanging baskets. Easy to grow crops such as salad leaves, strawberries, Asian greens and herbs will grow happily in pots, and if you have room for a raised garden bed, then you can grow an even larger variety of vegetables.
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