Welcome to Hollyhock Hill
A gardening family with local roots.
Our family began gardening near Ballarat in 1856 ... five generations later and we're still here serving you in the Garden City!
Plants, seeds, and garden tools are available at our local Saturday markets (see below for the next market dates). Open from 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m, the Hollyhock Hill stand showcases a range of heirloom and open-pollinated flower, vegetable, and herb seeds, as well as potted perennials and top-quality gardening tools. In winter we stock tulips and daffodil bulbs, and in spring a wide range of tomato varieties and other vegetable plants are potted and ready for you to put in the ground. Our next local market days are:
Saturday 22nd February 2025, Ballarat Farmers' Market.
Saturday 1st March 2025, Wesley Hill Market Castlemaine.
Saturday 8th March 2025, Ballarat Farmers' Market.
Saturday 15th March 2025, Creswick Market.
The Ballarat Farmers’ Market is in Zoo Drive, off Wendouree Parade, at the North Gardens Reserve. They have hot coffee, food vans, local fruit and vegetables, baked goods, sweets, desserts, jam, beverages, vinegar, olive oil, meat, cheese, spices, grain, eggs, honey, and loads of specialty stalls selling homewares, country crafts, jewellery, local art, clothing, plants, seeds, bulbs, and lots more!
The Creswick Market is a much-loved monthly event, with the true relaxed feel of a regional community market. Located in the picturesque and historic township of Creswick, just 20 minutes from either Ballarat or Daylesford. With live music and specialist boutique sites offering gourmet take away food, coffee, handmade arts and crafts, jewellery, clothes, home grown fruit, vegetables, plants and other produce.
Castlemaine's Wesley Hill Market is Victoria's oldest continuously running market. There is a diverse array of stalls offering organic fruit and vegetables, hot food and drinks, artisan bread and sweet treats, plants, tools, and much more.
Got any questions? Send us an email at sales@hollyhockhill.com.au
Happy Gardening!
Jock and Sasha
About our seeds ...
Our seeds are all open-pollinated and may be saved for future generations. We do not stock any F1 hybrids and, while some may be relatively new 'modern heirlooms', all are genetically stable and many are heritage varieties that extend back to the 1800's or earlier. Occasional variations are a positive feature of open-pollinated plants, without which nature would not be able to adapt to a changing environment, but you can have assurance that the seed will remain generally true-to-type.
Our seeds are packed right here in Ballarat, and the classic design of our unique paper packets features artwork by Sasha Freeman. Larger seeds are counted by hand and finer seeds are weighed on precision scales to ensure that you will always receive more than you paid for.
Our seeds are proven to germinate. Germination rates in most varieties are between 73-96% at time of testing. If you experience any difficulty, simply let us know and we'll be happy to help.
We ship our seeds to Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Queensland, and South Australia. Shipping for seeds-only orders is at a flat rate of $4.95. Apologies to those living further afield; we do not ship our seeds anywhere beyond these five regions due to biosecurity restrictions.
We’re serious about sustainability. The range of varieties we offer is guided by the knowledge that harvesting your own seeds for the following season is an essential feature of the self-sufficient garden. Many of our open pollinated varieties are grown right here in our cottage garden, while others are sourced from our suppliers in Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
We're serious about biodiversity. Make your home garden even more biodiverse than the natural landscape! It is possible to grow over one hundred species within a quarter-acre block, and the result is thrilling! No matter how big or small your gardening space is, we encourage you to maximise your plant diversity, choose natural or eco-friendly pest control options, and (if your garden is as densely planted as ours) stop using herbicide and do it the old-fashioned way.