It was in 1978 that the Blazey family launched The Diggers Club. Starting a tiny mail-order business, branded Diggers Seed and Garden Club, went totally against the 100-year trend of gardeners buying their seeds and plants through garden nurseries (and, latterly, via Bunnings). Penny and I had no idea whether our fledgling ‘Good Life’ inspired cottage seed catalogue would succeed and even feed our family. Luckily, our mail-order direct-to-gardener approach took off.
In our early years, many of our members had more gardening experience than we did, so we desperately needed a larger trial garden to expand our gardening knowledge. In 1983, Heronswood’s 3.5-acre garden appeared on the market. The historic site, with its 110-year-old Neo-Gothic architecture as background, had enormous garden potential because we could trial, as well as display, all the vegetables and flowers that then appealed to cottage gardeners. As we built our garden trials, we felt confident enough to open the garden to visitors in 1986, just as Vogue Living featured Heronswood in its popular lifestyle magazine.
Our first education centre was built at Heritage Farm in Trawool in 1996. We had pioneered the rescue of heirloom vegetables in 1993, following the Heronswood taste test of 100 heirloom tomatoes. Famous chefs, such as Stephanie Alexander, were so impressed with ‘heirloom tomatoes’ that they ranked the popular supermarket tomato just 44% in taste tests, compared with the winner, ‘Tommy Toe’, at 73%. Demand for heirloom vegetables, not just tomatoes, skyrocketed.
After our family purchased Heronswood, we planted trials of the very best perennial plants found in the finest botanic and private gardens in Australia. Our selection of native and exotic trees dates back over 150 years, encompassing the growing knowledge acquired from all of Australia’s botanic gardens. Gertrude Jekyll, a renowned English gardener, once said, “Don’t be discouraged by how much there is to learn … little by little comes the power of intelligent combination … the nearest thing we can know to the mighty force of creation.”
Above all, gardening teaches us humility and compassion, perhaps the greatest gifts of all. Your membership is precious to us so that we can preserve the finest plants, heirloom seeds and three of Australia’s finest historic houses and gardens. Penny and I wish you a safe and happy summer of gardening.