The grounds of a Queenscliff church manse host a magnificent confluence of gardening and art. JOHN VAN KLAVEREN tours the handiwork of Kerrie Lingham and Charles Gallacher.
IT WAS a love of gardening instilled by both grandmothers that inspired Kerrie Lingham to establish her eternally evolving seaside environment.
Working with a few previously established trees, Kerrie and fellow Uniting Church minister Charles “the forced labour” Gallacher created a garden both productive and ornamental.
“I love gardening and I love hospitality and the garden allows me to put the two together,” Kerrie says.
The pair moved into the Queenscliff Point Lonsdale Uniting Church manse, a classic red-brick residence with a prime position on the Queenscliff foreshore, 17 years ago.
“There was a fig tree, a lemon tree and a peppermint tree already here and they crop prolifically each year,” Kerrie says.
“But other than that it was mainly just grass.”
Built in 1930, the magnificent period residence predates contemporary green design with a huge underground brick-lined water tank built-in underneath, known as a bottle well, cut into the limestone and fed from the roof.
Using her farm upbringing for inspiration, Kerrie worked with Charles to incorporate traditional fruit and vegetable production and recycled art along with some more-modern techniques.
A no-dig garden bed is fringed with a fence made from rescued rusty farm fencing wire. Pea straw bales have created a raised garden, with bean plants embedded in the straw.
A pair of wicking beds, built up from a carpet base and layered with scoria, shade cloth, foil, soil and compost, are self-watering, with the moisture wicking up through the layers.
Kerrie makes extensive use of pots and raised beds to plant a wider variety than the high-PH sandy lime soil would normally allow.
Charles utilises his artistic techniques and recycled items to fashion various sculptures, including a ball and a large bowl, along with old car leaf springs and fan covers.
A frog pond is a recent addition, under a nesting box aimed at attracting birdlife that still seems to prefer the houses eaves, Kerrie laughs.
But the rosellas and honeyeaters, along with bees and other insect life, are all welcome, even if they help themselves to some of the produce occasionally.
Succulents have been grouped under the peppermint tree and a blue-themed garden takes up a handy space at the rear near an external garage.
Little pathways of brick and pebbles link the varied aspects of the garden.
Producing quince, limes, oranges, apples, herbs, rhubarb, artichokes, capsicums, eggplants, tomatoes and spring onions, Kerrie and Charles also do a lot of preserving and pickling.
The produce is generously shared, along with the garden itself, as part of the church and wider community. The garden was opened earlier this year along with five others around Queenscliff.
“People love being out here,” Kerrie says.
“A garden is great for wellbeing; it’s more than just the physical health, it’s also psychological.
“There’s abundance here but not just of produce but also love, smiles, even sadness if it’s appropriate.”
