When Claudia Walters came across the heritage home of 1909 Otford Public School headmaster Arthur Gilchrist, she was inspired. Named after its former owner, Gilly's Kitchen Garden is on the site where Gilchrist taught children to grow vegies and flowers.

And like everything with roots on the property, how that inspiration has grown.

“It was great because in 1909, at the time, Otford was pretty isolated," Claudia says. "We really had to grow a lot of our own stuff, and that to me was so inspiring.”

Today, Gilly’s Kitchen Garden is not only Claudia’s home but an organisation at the heart of the secluded Otford community. It's also a major stop on the upcoming Illawarra Edible Garden Trail, a weekend event that gives visitors the opportunity to see what's possible in their own backyards.

“I just adore the community vibe, and having the chance to talk about my garden,” Claudia says. 

“It's nice to be involved because of the people who come. You get families, you get friend groups, you get different groups of people come and they've all got an interest in gardening. 

“Some of them have gardens, some of them wish they had gardens and they're just looking for inspiration. It’s nice to be able to encourage people along and give them a bit of a nudge to start.” 

Gilly's Kitchen Garden sits on 2500 square metres, boasting more than 100 fruit trees, chickens, compost and a native plants section. While sunlight can be a challenge for Otford growers, Claudia enjoys a north-facing garden and has cultivated various microclimates to ensure her plants thrive.

“I can do more than most people can in this area, but we have areas that are shaded too, so we have things like a creek line and talk about all different sorts of microclimates," she says. 

"Hopefully, the trail means I can answer some questions and also learn from others, because it's amazing the people that come through and what they do.”

Sowing the seeds

Claudia is no stranger to the trail – she helped create it. After enjoying the Blue Mountains Garden Trail in 2022, she thought the beautiful community day should be introduced in the South Coast. A handful of friends began planning the first Illawarra Edible Garden Trail, and in just a few years, it has grown to welcome hundreds of new and seasoned gardeners.

“It's surprising how much effort it takes putting on an event like this, which is just two days in a year,” Claudia says. 

"But I think it gives the trail legs where other edible garden trails have sort of struggled, like the Sydney event, which closed down. It's a shame because it's a wonderful, wonderful thing to go right across the whole region.”

The third annual trail, organised by Food Fairness Illawarra and Healthy Cities Australia, has become a local highlight. This year, more than 30 gardens, including backyard patches, community farms and school vegie plots, will open their gates on November 22-23. The trail aims to educate attendees on food security, seasonality and the diverse native plants and animals of the Illawarra.

"It's been really heartening to see the numbers keep growing year on year and the spread now to Shellharbour," Claudia says.

"Next year we're expecting to get Kiama to join in the fun. We wanted to do it slowly just to cut our teeth because it was all new, but it is really exciting. I think it's going to continue to grow and hopefully inspire a lot more people to grow their own food."

This year's trail, themed “food for all'', welcomes the added involvement from Illawarra Natives. 

"I think the knowledge that they bring is going to take us to the next level," Claudia says. "It's not just about feeding humans, but about the native flora and fauna as well, which is really exciting, and it's something that none of the edible garden trails that I know of do.”

Situated on the edge of the Royal National Park, Gilly's Kitchen Garden attracts vibrant birdlife such as cockatoos and bowerbirds. Claudia's permaculture ethos of “people care, earth care, fair share” extends to them, too.

“You know to expect that a certain amount of your vegies are going to go to local wildlife, and that's fine. They're our community too," she says. 

"So we put netting over some plants, and we make others available. We have some for us, some for them.”

Bitten early

Claudia's passion for gardening started early, with her Italian parents cultivating a quarter-acre block with chickens and fruit trees closer to Sydney. But her passion blossomed after she moved to Otford.

“I’d recently been bitten by the growing bug. I'd sort of been around it my whole life with my folks in the backyard. They were always out there. But I've got a young one with a disability. So I was very occupied with him and it's only since he's got a level of independence that then I really have the time to pursue my passions,” Claudia says.

“But this is next level because I've got over 100 fruit trees here. And I did that on purpose because with the whole climate change thing, who knows what's going to work, you know? 

“So we've got everything from apples and pears to stone fruit through to all the citrus and more tropical stuff like bananas and mangoes too. And then nuts as well – we've got hazelnuts, almonds and chestnuts.”

More on offer

The garden has grown beyond Claudia’s initial interest, and today it’s a living classroom and community hub. Three people work part-time in the garden alongside Claudia, and she says it’s a great option for young people to supplement their income.

“I don't think there are many jobs like this around, where you can learn a skill and spend time outside and have that sense of community where we work together,” she says.

“One of the girls does impact filming – that's around films that are trying to give a message. So the fact that she can supplement her income and do something she loves is great, because we're all giddy nuts for growing. For young people, the flexibility of being able to do a number of different things is really groovy.”

Beyond the annual trail, Gilly’s provides year-round support to locals. A monthly crop swap allows people to share surplus harvests, while regular working bees get big jobs done fast.

"When we help each other with a particular task, it just goes so much faster," Claudia says. 

"We had a working bee here a couple of weeks ago, and we were done in half an hour, whereas if I had been on my own I would have been there the whole eight hours of the day. It's just nice, you chat and it's a lovely community vibe.”

The garden also collaborates with schools and universities, providing afternoon tea for Otford Public School and running a gardening program with them. They are also working with the University of Wollongong (UOW) to develop the Food Warriors program, teaching students about soil health and nutrition.

"That's really exciting because when we embed something as critical and basic as growing food in the university degrees, I think it is a really big win," she says.

Through their “Bite Sized” initiative, the garden also provides services such as building compost bins and raised garden beds for those wanting to get started. Additionally, they're part of a Box Divvy program, which provides about 45 local families with fruit and veg, straight from Gilly’s Kitchen Garden.

“It's about un-supermarket marketing, trying to get a bit more of a straight line from the producers and farmers to the community,” Claudia says. 

"That's good too because it's getting more people to eat fresh food.”

Book Garden Trail tickets 

The Edible Garden Trail is on the weekend of November 22 and 23. Adults (17+) $25; concession $15. For more information, visit the website or book tickets via Humanitix. The annual event is in partnership with Healthy Cities Australia and Food Fairness Illawarra, with thanks to sponsor Gilly’s Kitchen Garden.