Friends of the Margaret Mitchell Garden

The Margaret Mitchell Garden is a native plant garden oasis in the heart of the village of Richmond. The planting highlights Coal Valley plants and Tasmanian plants generally, and provides a peaceful place to sit and contemplate the natural world. It is a great place for children to wander and play and they even have a giant chess set and a Boules pad. There is a small information building on-site which has wildlife information about the nearby Pitt Water Reserve, an important RAMSAR listed reserve. The garden is named in honor of Dr Margaret Mitchell, who was a general practitioner in Richmond and the first female councillor elected in the area.

The group cares for the garden as an educational and relaxing place for tourists and locals. The dry summer months have presented a challenge to the Margaret Mitchell Garden but with regular additional hand-watering the plants are getting through it. Both locals and visitors enjoy the garden, with its beautiful plants, secretive winding paths, easy access, birdlife, and giant chess set. The Friends are grateful for a donation from the Richmond Residents Association and a grant from the Wildcare Inc Board of Management that has allowed them to produce and install plant labels and replace plants that didn’t make it last summer. Wildcare Friends of the Margaret Mitchell Garden conduct a morning working bee once a month to tidy up plantings and pull any weeds. Members, with weekday assistance from staff of the council, make sure the chess pieces are available each day (they are very popular) and open the small exhibition building that provides information about the nearby RAMSAR wetlands.

New volunteers are welcome to join in on working bee days, for an hour or a morning, to help care for this wonderful garden park. Working bees are held on the first Sunday each month at 10am. More information on the Branch page. Contact: Rowena mmgarden@wildcaretas.org.au

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