• Williamstown, Altona, Laverton Star

By Kate Bonsack

13th January 2009 11:06:07 AM

Open garden ... Williamstown resident Julie Pappas and her children, James, Anthony and Natasha, love being in their garden and it will open to the public for the first time on 17 and 18 January as part of the Australian Open Garden Scheme. 25860 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI

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GARDENING has been the love of Williamstown resident Julie Pappas for many years because there has been so much she could do with a garden.

“I love the beauty of it,” she said, “and my children enjoy it.

“They get into my garden and dabble around in it, which is better than them sitting inside playing a video game.”

It was five years ago when Ms Pappas started her Williamstown garden, which next weekend will be opened to the public as part of Australia’s Open Garden Scheme.

And as the scheme encourages garden owners to donate a percentage of their entry takings to charity, Ms Pappas’ garden that she has named Julie’s Garden, will help sudden infant death syndrome.

“I have a friend who had a baby that died from SIDS,” she said.

“So I’d like to give the money to that cause.”

Ms Pappas started her leafy and colourful garden from scratch, working on it every week because she said it was “her thing”.

“It will be the first time I open it to the public,” she said.

It will also be the first time in six years that a garden in Williamstown has been involved in the open garden scheme.

“I uumed and aahed about opening the garden,” Ms Pappas said.

“But the people from the open garden scheme had a look at the garden and encouraged me to do it.”

Now the public can enjoy the splendour of Ms Pappas’ hard work of planting roses, snapdragons, agapanthus, lilly pilly, among many more, while sitting back and sipping on coffee and nibbling into cake.

“My husband is a barista, so we will have coffee and cake available, plus there will be craft and plants on sale,” Ms Pappas said.

The open garden scheme has been blossoming for 21 years as a way to encourage the knowledge and pleasure of gardens and gardening across Australia.

It opens a diverse range of gardens from tiny inner city courtyards to grand country estates, with proceeds going to the Open Garden Scheme, the garden owner, and a charity of the garden owner’s choice.

Julie’s Garden will be open on 17 and 18 January from 10am to 4.30pm with a $5 entry fee.

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