At 4 Ballarat Street, community has taken root in the most uplifting way.
What began as a casual idea between neighbours to grow a few herbs together has become the Ballarat Street Gardening Club. It is a rooftop ritual centred on connection, care, and a shared love of growing things.
Assemble helped get things started by providing seeds, giving residents a simple foundation to grow from together.
Every second week, residents meet on the rooftop for a few hours. There’s no hierarchy and no need for gardening experience. It is about showing up, having a chat, sharing an experience, and watching something thrive under your care.
We just wanted a way to get to know our neighbours, learn as we go, and make the rooftop feel like an extension of home like it was intended to be.
- Maddy Costello, Gardening Group Founding Member
The colder months brought some gardening, lots of compost and mulching, but mostly laughter, and grand plans for spring. Then came the season of action with a group trip to Ceres Nursery to collect seedlings, followed by a big spring planting day. Cucumbers, basil, capsicums, mixed lettuces, three tomato varieties, eggplant, chillies, zucchini, and dahlias joined an already thriving mix of broccoli, poppies, celery, beetroot, kale, sorrel, strawberries, blueberries, and herbs including parsley, tarragon, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
A contribution from Assemble helped get things growing, but it is the people who have truly made it flourish. Friendships have formed over shared harvests, communal dinners in the common room, and balcony garden advice swapped midweek. The group has grown from six to twelve members, with new residents joining all the time.
The rooftop garden is for everyone who calls 4 Ballarat Street home. Any residents that have been curious about joining are warmly invited to wander up, say hello, and pick a few fresh herbs or veggies for dinner. What’s taking shape here isn’t just a garden, it’s how this community connects.
Photos by Josh Preston (@preston.studio) and members of the Gardening Club.
