Our Story
(Pictured: Eastern spinebill in a Japanese flowering quince hedge at Hollyhock Hill.)
Ballarat is our home, and gardening is our heritage.
Hollyhock Hill's seeds have been available online since 2021, but our local gardening heritage goes back much further...
...to 1856, in fact, when our family first began farming and market gardening in the Ballarat district. Starting out with a rented 17-acre vegetable garden in Scotsburn, our family's produce went to the local markets and ended up on the tables of what was then the fastest-growing population in the world: the Victorian goldfields.
Since those early years, every generation of our family has continued the green-fingered tradition in one way or another: from growing award-winning fruit and vegetables and manufacturing export-quality jams to growing and selling open-pollinated flower and heirloom vegetable seeds; from providing the Ballarat region with its first locally-born botanical garden curator to landscaping the private gardens of this green city in the 21st century, our family has now been dedicated to serving the gardens and dinner plates of the Ballarat district for over 160 years.
Robert McPherson of the Buninyong Botanical Gardens, the first locally born curator of a botanical garden in the Ballarat district. McPherson's speciality was daffodils, with 400 varieties in cultivation and cut flowers sent as far as Sydney.
OUR SEEDS:
In our little cottage garden in Ballarat, we take great pleasure in saving heritage seed year after year. And at a local Saturday market in the Spring of 2021, armed with a small collection of these open-pollinated seeds, we proved that we are not the only passionate gardeners in our hometown: Ballarat, the cool-climate capital of Australia, is truly the Garden City. Our public and private gardens are an inspiration, and we applaud all who have helped to preserve this city's famed heritage with an old-fashioned love of gardening. Long may it continue!
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.
We invite you to explore our curated collection of over 100 heirloom and open-pollinated varieties and enjoy the satisfaction of adding a little bit of biodiversity and beauty to your life!
Meet us at the market!
Plants, seeds, and garden tools are available at the Ballarat Farmers Market (held on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month) and the Creswick Market (held on the 3rd Saturday of the month). 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. And in spring, a wide range of tomato varieties and other vegetable plants are potted and ready for you to put in the ground.
Ballarat Farmers’ 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!
Creswick Market
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.
Wesley Hill Market
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.
Click here or send an email to sales@hollyhockhill.com.au to find out when and where Hollyhock Hill's next market stall will be.
Wishing you very happy gardening!
Jock and Sasha
Ballarat Botanical Gardens