The Victorian Schools Garden Program was proud to be part of the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, delivering five days of hands-on, nature-based experiences for families.
The Wildplace Garden (designed by Urban Discovery for the VSGP) where children and adults alike were fully immersed in play. Visitors could be seen exploring, building, and engaging with natural materials, embracing the joy and creativity that outdoor environments inspire. It was a powerful reminder of the importance of unstructured play and connection to nature for all ages.
Over 3,500 children potted their own seedlings and created personalised plant labels, taking home both their plants and a sense of pride in growing something themselves.
Alongside this, Agriculture Victoria encouraged visitors to join the Great Biosecurity Quest and become Watchout Warriors by reporting garden pests via the iNaturalist app. Zoos Victoria shared the story of the Golden-rayed blue butterfly, highlighting how planting the right species can support conservation, while the Foodcube display inspired visitors to see how edible gardens can thrive in any space
Visitors also enjoyed the Sustainable Scarecrow Competition, featuring imaginative ‘Habitat Farmer’ entries from schools and kindergartens across Victoria, with many casting votes for their favourite designs.
(You can view the winning scarecrows on the VSGP website latest news page ).
The Wildplace was a vibrant celebration of gardening, creativity and community, with families leaving inspired, more connected to the natural world, and motivated to find or create their own wild places.
Thank you to the VSGP planting activity sponsors:
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria for their wonderfully enthusiastic volunteers who helped children pot their seedlings.
Quality Plants & Seedlings generously grew over 4,000 seedlings for children to plant.
Grow Better supplied their ‘Premium Compost Soil’ – perfect for growing produce and safe for little hands.
Garden City Plastics provided 4,000 environmentally friendly, PP5 recyclable pots.
Takasho for the use of their VegTrugs – sturdy raise planters in which 3500 seedlings were potted from.
Plantfulness for their generous donation of children’s gardening gloves, helping even the most dirt-shy participants get involved, and encouraging a love of gardening that can continue at home.
