25/05/2026
A little update regarding the Community Garden Beds here at Levin Landscape Depot
Firstly, thank you so much for the incredible support, encouragement, and interest so far. It’s been amazing to see people getting behind this idea already 💚
I just wanted to clarify a few things and add a bit more information after some questions were raised yesterday.
A significant amount of money has already been outlaid by individuals involved in getting this project started, along with many volunteer hours already contributed. We still have a way to go before all beds are fully completed, including more materials that still need to be purchased.
Because of this, we are currently looking for sponsorships for the garden beds.
We already have a few wonderful local businesses sponsoring beds already (thank you so much!), and sponsorship is $150 per bed
This sponsorship helps cover the setup costs of building and establishing the gardens for the community.
Francis Donegan will be handling all sponsorship enquiries and organisation, so if you or your business would like to sponsor a full bed - or even contribute towards a partial sponsorship/setup cost of a bed, please contact Francis directly 😊
For those asking about the 10 available paid garden beds:
Bed rental will be $2.50 per week.
Part of the reason for this small rental cost is to help recover some of the money already outlaid into creating the gardens, along with helping towards any ongoing costs in the future such as seedlings, maintenance, and supplies.
Another important reason for the rental structure is that it helps create clear ownership and boundaries around each bed. When someone rents a bed, that space becomes theirs to grow what they would like, care for how they choose, and enjoy as their own little garden space 🌻🥕
It also helps create a respectful understanding that people shouldn’t interfere with or touch other people’s beds, as those spaces are being individually rented and cared for by the people using them.
I also want to clarify something important, as a few people have understandably asked whether this is intended as a commercial venture or community initiative.
None of the sponsorship money or bed rental money will be kept as profit by Levin Landscape Depot. The money collected is simply going towards recovering some of the costs that have already been personally outlaid by the individuals helping build this project, and any additional money will be reinvested back into the gardens in some form — whether that’s seedlings, materials, maintenance, improvements, or helping continue the project long-term 🌱
I also want to gently clarify the boundaries around the project space itself.
This community garden project is something that I, Michelle, have personally decided to make space for within Levin Landscape Depot, which is still a privately owned and operating business on private land.
The initial area allocated to the community gardens is approximately a 10m x 10m section specifically set aside for the garden beds and shared garden space. The remainder of the property is still actively used for business operations, deliveries, machinery, customers, and day-to-day work.
Because of this, we do ask that people respect that the community garden area is limited to the designated space provided, and that any future ideas, additions, planting, structures, or changes outside of that area would need to be discussed first 😊
We want this to be a welcoming, positive, community-focused space where people can learn, grow food, connect with others, and enjoy gardening together - while also respecting that the wider property still needs to function safely and practically as a working business.
Francis is extremely passionate about this project and genuinely loves helping people learn how to grow food and build confidence with gardening. He’ll be around and involved throughout the project to help guide, support, and encourage people along the way 😊
We’ll continue posting updates as more progress happens 💚
