SA Autumn Garden Festival

28/08/2026

🌱 SPRING IS IN THE AIR… 🌱

A gardener’s favourite time of year, when everything begins to wake from its winter slumber. 🌿🌼

And what an amazingly wet winter we’ve had! It feels a little like the winters of old….cool, damp and just what our gardens needed. 💧

Now is the perfect time to lock in all that precious moisture and prepare our soil for the warmer months ahead.

🌱 My tip for getting your garden beds ready:

✂️ Slash or flatten the weeds rather than pulling everything out.

🌿 Feed your soil with a good pelletised organic fertiliser.

📦 Lay down overlapping, wet cardboard to smother the weeds and keep the soil covered.

🌾 Finish with a generous 10cm layer of pea straw.

And then… let nature do the work! 🐛🍄

Underneath that protective blanket, your soil life will be thriving….with food, moisture and shelter for all those incredible microbes and organisms that work tirelessly to build healthy soil and make nutrients available to your plants.

It’s one of the simplest ways to turn your garden bed into a living, thriving ecosystem. 🌱

Because remember…

💚 HEALTHY SOIL = HEALTHY PLANTS 💚

And healthy plants mean a healthier, more resilient garden ready to flourish through spring and summer.

🌱 SA Autumn Garden Festival
🌿 Healthy Soil • Waterwise Gardens • Thriving Communities
Learn… Grow… Thrive…

26/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FCokRzv9z/?

Calling all backyard produce growers! 🌱🍊🥬

New to the Clare Show Market is our Community Produce Stall, where you can trade, sell or simply give away your excess homegrown fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

This growing season has been off to a fantastic start, and I know many of you already have an abundance of produce…perhaps more Swiss chard than you know what to do with! Instead of letting that beautiful food go to waste, bring it along to the markets and help share it with our community.

The best part? You don’t even need to stay and man the stall…I’ll happily do that for you. I’ll also provide the gazebo, vintage produce boxes and hessian tablecloths to create a beautiful, welcoming market display.

Whether you’d like to earn a few dollars from your harvest or simply pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it, every bunch of greens, every lemon, every handful of herbs makes a difference.

If you’d like to know more, send me a message. Together, let’s celebrate local produce, reduce food waste and help get fresh, homegrown food onto more tables. 💚

💚 from Paulie Calaby
Market Coordinator

Clare Show Markets
Saturday 11th July
9-1
Clare Town Hall and Ennis Park

01/06/2026

🌱 The Slow Food Movement Growing More Than Just Food 🌱

In a world that seems to move faster every day, the Slow Food movement invites us to reconnect with what truly nourishes us with fresh, local, seasonal food grown with care for people and the planet.

Born from the belief that food should be good, clean and fair, the movement celebrates local growers, producers, gardeners, cooks and communities who value flavour, tradition and sustainability over convenience and mass production.

At the heart of every garden is the opportunity to embrace slow food principles. From harvesting homegrown pumpkins and leafy greens to sharing meals around the family table, every step helps build a deeper connection to the land and the seasons.

🍂 Grow what thrives in your local climate
🥕 Support local farmers and producers
🌱 Save seeds and preserve heritage varieties
🍎 Eat seasonally and reduce food miles
👨‍🌾 Share knowledge, recipes and produce within your community

Gardens are powerful places. They teach us patience, resilience and gratitude while providing food that nourishes both body and soul.

This winter, take a little time to slow down, wander through a garden, taste something grown close to home and celebrate the people who make our local food systems flourish.

Because good food is not just about what is on our plate, it’s about the stories, communities and landscapes behind every bite.

Four Leaf Milling
Cafe 1871
Watervale Hotel Epicurean Society
The UPPside European Restaurant & Wine Bar - Clare Valley
Wunderbar Lamb
Barossa Valley Ice Cream Company
Ballycroft Vineyard and Cellars
Otherness Wines
SheChef
EDO Cucina
Slow Food South Australia

🍂🌿🥕

26/05/2026

Our Sophie is overseas at the moment and sharing some absolutely wonderful gardens from her travels…
From breathtaking blooms to inspiring garden spaces, she’s taking us all along for the journey. 🌿🌸

Jump on board her page and follow along as she explores beautiful gardens, gathers inspiration and shares all the magic from abroad… you won’t want to miss it. ✈️🌻

08/05/2026

Tonight was about celebrating the volunteers that help make the SA Autumn Garden Festival happen..

With gourmet steak sandwiches topped with homemade chutney, homemade apple crumble and wine kindly donated by Eldredge Wines it was a chance to celebrate the people behind the scenes.

These are the kind-hearted community members who volunteer their time so others can enjoy a great experience. Whether it’s the Lions Club guiding you to a park, family members helping with buggy rides back to your car, generous helpers at the Shop & Drop, volunteers selling raffle tickets, the awesome Clare Show red shirts emptying bins and helping with set up and pack up, local educators donating their time to entertain the kids, or community members helping where they can…it’s the coming together of a village at its very best.

Thank you, thank you, thank you !

Because events in both our rural towns and city communities simply wouldn’t happen without the generosity of volunteers.

03/05/2026

What was your biggest takeaway from this year’s SA Autumn Garden Festival?

Was it Adam Burford sharing how deciduous trees can create up to 14°C cooler temperatures under their canopy in summer?

Or Sophie Thomson speaking honestly about the challenges of transforming her new property in the harsh Mid Murray conditions?

Or maybe Costa Georgiadis praising our incredible stallholders—blown away by the quality, value, and passion that inspires us all to get growing.

From thoughtful design to functional planting, gardens have always shaped the way we live—creating beauty, purpose, and lifelong memories.

So… what’s one tip you’re taking home and putting into action?

👇 We’d love to hear it in the comments

29/04/2026

Not got the room or means to grow your own veggies?

Then grow sprouts on your kitchen bench instead!

All you need is about 1/4 cup of lentils or other sprouting seeds. I used locally farmer-grown lentils, but you can simply buy bulk whole soup lentils too.

Pop the lentils into a jar, cover with water and soak for around 12 hours.

Next, attach a piece of Chux or muslin cloth over the top with a rubber band or string, then drain off the water.

Place the jar lid-side down in a bowl and continue to rinse and drain morning and evening (which is why it’s handy to keep it in the kitchen where you’ll remember!).

Within 24 hours the magic begins and little sprouts appear.

They’ll be ready to eat in 3–5 days, depending on how crunchy you like them.

Toss them through salads, pile them onto sandwiches and wraps or use as a garnish on soups and stews.

So delicious, fun, easy… and a fresh little harvest right on your bench.

27/04/2026

How are your SA Autumn Garden Festival purchases going? 🌿🌸

Have you planted them out yet… or are they still sitting in pots waiting for the perfect spot? 😄

We would LOVE to see some photos of your newly purchased treasures settling into their new homes.
Pop your pics in the comments below and show us what you found at this year’s festival 👇📸

One of the best things about buying plants at a Garden Festival is that it truly is the gift that keeps on giving… watching them grow, flower and become part of your garden story.

But fair warning… plant buying can become slightly addictive 😂😂🌱

27/04/2026

Persimmons… an old-fashioned fruit tree that still holds a special place in the autumn garden. 🍂🧡

There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about these glowing orange jewels hanging on bare branches as the leaves begin to fall, a great addition to foraged plant displays like Abby from House of Harris did for the festival entrance..

Patience is the secret — leave the fruit on the kitchen bench to soften until they become lusciously ripe, then dive into that sweet, syrupy, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.

Truly the taste of autumn… simple, seasonal and worth the wait. 🌿