The Digger's Club
Encyclopedia
The Digger's Club is an Australian mail-order seed company
which specializes in unusual and heirloom plant
s. The company offers an extensive range of heirloom vegetables, cottage flowers and fruit plants, with the aim of providing a source of non-mainstream plants for gardeners, bypassing the major retail chains. The Digger's Club maintains two historic gardens which are open to the public, one of which is listed as a national heritage site
. The Club also teaches gardening at horticultural colleges, runs workshops, and publishes gardening books. The Digger's Club focuses on preserving garden traditions and encouraging people to grow their own food in their backyards as a way to help tackle climate change. The Digger's Club is pro-organic and against genetically modified food
and industrial agriculture
. These issues are often addressed, alongside practical gardening information and advice, in its bi-monthly catalogues/newsletters posted to club members.
. By the end of the first year, bulbs, roses and perennial plants were included. The name "Digger's Club" is a reference to both the digging of soil and the subversive Australian cultural icon of a Digger
, coined during the Victorian gold rush
and both World Wars.
In 1983 Blazey purchased the historic estate of Heronswood
, located at the foot of Arthur's Seat on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula
, which became the new company headquarters. Heronswood joined the first Open Garden Scheme
in 1986. Throughout the late eighties and early nineties the Club helped pioneer drought tolerant plants and the heirloom vegetable revival. In 1996 the Garden of St Erth in Blackwood, Victoria
was purchased as well. Diggers adapted the new US hardiness zone
s for Australian gardens in 1998.
is listed on the Register of the National Estate. It is also listed in Oxford Companion to Gardens as one of only four gardens in Victoria, alongside the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Mawallock and Rippon Lea
. The garden has extensive plantings of flowers, including perennial borders, dry climate, cottage, and annual gardens, as well as five separate vegetable gardens. The first law professor at Melbourne University, William Hearn, employed Edward Latrobe Bateman to design Heronswood's main house in 1866. The house, which is of an asymmetric Gothic Revival design, was completed in 1871. A cafe was added to the property in 1996, with the aim of showcasing local ingredients.
stonemason, left Sydney
in pursuit of gold discovered near Mount Blackwood
in Victoria. In the 1860s he built a sandstone cottage, naming it "St Erth" after his birthplace
in Cornwall. Located in the Wombat State Forest
, the bush garden now covers four hectares and contains over 3,000 varieties of plants, with espaliered heirloom fruit trees and a permaculture
-style food forest.
Seed company
Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruit and vegetables to theamateur gardener. The production of seed is a multi billion dollar business, which usesgrowing facilities and growing locations world wide. While most seed is produced by large...
which specializes in unusual and heirloom plant
Heirloom plant
An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, or heirloom vegetable is a cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture...
s. The company offers an extensive range of heirloom vegetables, cottage flowers and fruit plants, with the aim of providing a source of non-mainstream plants for gardeners, bypassing the major retail chains. The Digger's Club maintains two historic gardens which are open to the public, one of which is listed as a national heritage site
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
. The Club also teaches gardening at horticultural colleges, runs workshops, and publishes gardening books. The Digger's Club focuses on preserving garden traditions and encouraging people to grow their own food in their backyards as a way to help tackle climate change. The Digger's Club is pro-organic and against genetically modified food
Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
and industrial agriculture
Industrial agriculture
Industrial farming is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political...
. These issues are often addressed, alongside practical gardening information and advice, in its bi-monthly catalogues/newsletters posted to club members.
History
The Digger's Club was founded by Clive Blazey in 1978. Its first mail order catalogue was published that year, offering 250 varieties of seeds distributed by a staff of four from an old tin shed in Albert Park, VictoriaAlbert Park, Victoria
Albert Park is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, Albert Park had a population of 5827....
. By the end of the first year, bulbs, roses and perennial plants were included. The name "Digger's Club" is a reference to both the digging of soil and the subversive Australian cultural icon of a Digger
Digger (soldier)
Digger is an Australian and New Zealand military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. It originated during World War I.- Origin :...
, coined during the Victorian gold rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
and both World Wars.
In 1983 Blazey purchased the historic estate of Heronswood
Heronswood, Victoria
thumb|250px|HeronswoodHeronswood is a historic property that was built in 1864 and is located in Dromana, Victoria. A Gothic Revival house built in 1874, and highly picturesque, it incorporates the original shingled roofed cottage that was the first structure built on 46 acres.Heronswood is...
, located at the foot of Arthur's Seat on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
, which became the new company headquarters. Heronswood joined the first Open Garden Scheme
Australia's Open Garden Scheme
Australia's Open Garden Scheme is a non-profit organisation that began in Victoria Australia in 1987. Its aim is to promote the knowledge and pleasure of gardens and gardening across Australia. Under the scheme, private gardens are opened for public viewing for one or two weekends a year. About 650...
in 1986. Throughout the late eighties and early nineties the Club helped pioneer drought tolerant plants and the heirloom vegetable revival. In 1996 the Garden of St Erth in Blackwood, Victoria
Blackwood, Victoria
Blackwood is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Lerderderg River, 89 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne. Blackwood is in the Shire of Moorabool Local Government Area and had a population of 235 at the 2006 census....
was purchased as well. Diggers adapted the new US hardiness zone
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
s for Australian gardens in 1998.
Heronswood
Home of the Digger's Club, HeronswoodHeronswood, Victoria
thumb|250px|HeronswoodHeronswood is a historic property that was built in 1864 and is located in Dromana, Victoria. A Gothic Revival house built in 1874, and highly picturesque, it incorporates the original shingled roofed cottage that was the first structure built on 46 acres.Heronswood is...
is listed on the Register of the National Estate. It is also listed in Oxford Companion to Gardens as one of only four gardens in Victoria, alongside the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Mawallock and Rippon Lea
Rippon Lea Estate
Rippon Lea Estate is a historic property located in Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia. It is under the care of the National Trust of Australia.It was built in 1868 for Sir Frederick Sargood, a wealthy Melbourne businessman, politician and philanthropist...
. The garden has extensive plantings of flowers, including perennial borders, dry climate, cottage, and annual gardens, as well as five separate vegetable gardens. The first law professor at Melbourne University, William Hearn, employed Edward Latrobe Bateman to design Heronswood's main house in 1866. The house, which is of an asymmetric Gothic Revival design, was completed in 1871. A cafe was added to the property in 1996, with the aim of showcasing local ingredients.
The Garden of St Erth
In 1854 Matthew Rogers, a CornishCornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
stonemason, left Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in pursuit of gold discovered near Mount Blackwood
Blackwood, Victoria
Blackwood is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Lerderderg River, 89 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne. Blackwood is in the Shire of Moorabool Local Government Area and had a population of 235 at the 2006 census....
in Victoria. In the 1860s he built a sandstone cottage, naming it "St Erth" after his birthplace
St Erth
St Erth is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The village is situated four miles southeast of St Ives and six miles northeast of Penzance....
in Cornwall. Located in the Wombat State Forest
Wombat State Forest
The Wombat State Forest is located west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between Woodend and Daylesford, at the Great Dividing Range. The forest is approximately in size and sits upon Ordovician or Tertiary sediments...
, the bush garden now covers four hectares and contains over 3,000 varieties of plants, with espaliered heirloom fruit trees and a permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
-style food forest.
Books
- Guide to Gardening Success, Clive Blazey, 1994.
- The Australian Vegetable Garden, Clive Blazey, 1999.
- The Australian Flower Garden, Clive Blazey, 2001.
- The Australian Fruit and Vegetable Garden, Clive Blazey and Jane Varkulevicius, 2006.
- Growing Your Own Heirloom Vegetables, Clive Blazey, 2008.