Glass Houses & Green Futures

Glass Houses & Green Futures is a celebration of the horticultural knowledge and passion that exists across Fremantle. Conversation and cultivation will take place in five artist-built hothouses, led by the artists and gardening enthusiasts who keep Fremantle green, growing and blossoming. Experience the history of gardening and imagine its future while sharing and exchanging local stories, botanical knowledge, growing skills and plants. The program of events will unfold with the shared knowledge from the people of White Gum Valley Community Orchard, Hilton Harvest Community Garden, Ecoburbia and more.

The glass houses for this project have been designed and constructed by a group of green-thumbed installation artists including Catia Dolzadelli, Claire Bailey, Ricky Gibson, Andrew Sunley-Smith and Pascal Proteau. Each of their site-specific, glass-rooved structures will be used as the location for a series of public sessions across Fremantle and its satellite precincts to honour and expand on the existing culture of gardening, growing and harvesting in our community. Drop by your local public session or make a tour of all five.

Illustration by Kathy Allam, photo by Jessica Wyld

Public Program

The festival will host five special Glasshouses & Green Futures events, all based in the Fremantle community.

Join one or your welcome to all!

2 – 4pm, Friday 12 July

White Gum Valley Community Orchard

Share food & stories around the campfire in the valley orchard; food, fun and flavours from the garden are celebrated in this afternoon tea gathering.

Join the WGV Community and Marissa Verma from Bindi Bindi Dreaming as your afternoon tea delights are linked directly to the plants in the garden.

Glasshouses will be onsite to explore and Ofa Fotu will be gathering stories of the plants of Fremantle.

3 – 6pm, Saturday 13 July

Hilton Harvest Community Garden, Rennie Crescent North, Hilton

Join in the fun at Hilton Harvest: plant, paint, sculpt, share stories and eat the garden goodness.

There will be: seedling planting workshops in the new nursery with the Hilton Harvest Gardeners; Botanical Illustration workshops with Jenessa King using natural dyes and watercolour;.

Sand Sculpting with Tim from Ecoburbia; glasshouses to explore; the mysteries continue with Ofa and enjoy a wood fired pizza with fresh garden toppings to top it all off.

12 – 3pm, Sunday 14 July

Stackwood, 10 Stack Street, Fremantle

Join in on a fun afternoon of trading plants and stories. Bring a plant or cutting with a story and swap it for something else to add to your collection.

Maybe you have an interesting specimen in your yard, perhaps you are delving into plant propagation or are just curious to see what house plants other people are hiding.

The day will be topped off by a cuttings class with plant guru Claire Greenhill which will give you the skills to propagate and grow your plant collection.

Glasshouses will be on site to explore and Ofa will continue her quest into the plants of Fremantle.

6 – 8pm, Wednesday 17 July

Samson Park, Sellenger Avenue

Animal spotting at Samson Park. What will be revealed in a night walk in the bushland? Join local botanist Jennifer Goldberg on exploring the understory of Samson Park. Bring your torch or borrow one of ours.

Glasshouses will be on site to explore.

7 – 10pm, Thursday 18 July

Fremantle City Streets

A night of nurturing on the streets of Fremantle. As the music plays the plants keep warm and grow in their mini hot houses.

Glasshouses will be on site to explore, Ofa will share final stories and an installation of nurturing will be brought alive by the team of Ecoburbia.

FREE