This garden will be open from 10.30am to 3.30pm on 5 and 6 December. Entry will be via pre-purchased timed-entry tickets, available via TryBooking. Session times are: 10.30am, 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm on each day. Garden Designer Tim Pilgrim will speak at the 12pm and 1.30pm sessions on Sunday 5 December.
Can a typical inner-city garden become a haven for biodiversity? Bent Street Garden makes a compelling case. Set on a 372-square-metre block in Northcote on Wurundjeri Country, this young, thoughtfully designed garden demonstrates how naturalistic planting, biodiversity and sustainable living can flourish in an ordinary suburban setting.
Owners Andrew and Rose have lived here since 2004 and, as their family's needs evolved, took the opportunity to reimagine both their Edwardian home and garden, placing sustainability at the heart of the project. In 2025, they engaged leading naturalistic landscape designer and plantsman Tim Pilgrim to create a garden where plants, people and wildlife can thrive together.
The design unfolds across three connected spaces: a pollinator-friendly public nature strip, a welcoming front garden and a secluded rear sanctuary. Nearly one-third of the plantings are Australian natives, complemented by hardy, drought-tolerant perennials and grasses selected for habitat value, seasonal movement, and resilience. Crushed granite and brick paths lead visitors through richly layered plantings that invite birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife to join the garden's living system.
Bent Street Garden celebrates the changing seasons. Every plant is catalogued in an online directory, while photographer Martina Gemmola is documenting the garden's development as a long-term record of how the landscape matures over time. As the garden's website describes it, this is "a case study in what a suburban garden can be.”
Recently featured in Home Beautiful magazine and The Design Files, Bent Street Garden offers inspiration for anyone interested in creating a beautiful, biodiverse and sustainable garden, whatever the size of their block.
Garden Designer Tim Pilgrim will speak at the 12pm and 1.30pm sessions on Sunday 5 December. He will speak about the ideas behind the garden and sign copies of his award-winning book, Wild by Design.
A portion of gate takings will be donated to CERES, an environmental education centre, community garden and urban farm in Brunswick East. (https://ceres.org.au/)
Photo credit: Martina Gemmola
Bent Street Garden is located on the lands of the Wurundjeri People. Open Gardens Victoria wishes to acknowledge the Traditional custodians of this land and we pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
The closest public toilet is option is 79 Elm Street, Northcote 3070 (Batman Park)
Extra activities in the area:
CERES – Local environmental park that includes an urban farm, Organic Grocery, Merri Café and onsite Nursery
Joe’s Market Garden – Urban organic Farm that sits along the Merri Creek in Coburg
Merri Creek Walk – A beautiful local creek that you can access CERES and Joe’s Garden too along the walkway whilst admiring the local indigenous and native flora.
High Street Northcote is a bustling collection of cafes, crafts and restaurants.
This garden will be open from 10.30am to 3.30pm on 5 and 6 December. Entry will be via pre-purchased timed-entry tickets, available via TryBooking. Session times are: 10.30am, 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm on each day. Garden Designer Tim Pilgrim will speak at the 12pm and 1.30pm sessions on Sunday 5 December.
Entry: $8 Adults, $5 Students (with ID card), Free for visitors under 18 or students who have purchased an annual Student Pass (with ID).
Tickets can be booked and pre-paid online via TryBooking. You can also pay on the day.
Sustainable practices are important to OGV, therefore where possible please either print your own garden notes or save them for viewing on your mobile device.
If you’re a tertiary student, why not purchase our OGV Student Pass, providing you with entry to all our garden openings for the year for just $25. Find out more and purchase your pass via TryBooking.
Become a Friend of OGV and receive two x 2 for the price of 1 garden passes, plus a one off 10% discount to some of Victoria's best garden centres via Trybooking.
Please stay at home if you're unwell
