Visit Mt Nelson Fiona and Craig 2026

This month the Food Garden Group climbed a little higher than usual, visiting Fiona and Craig’s garden on the summit of Mt Nelson. At around 350 m elevation, in a bushland setting, it’s a beautiful location — but not necessarily an easy one for growing food.

 Gardening on the mountaintop means working with shallow soils sitting directly on dolerite bedrock, competing with towering eucalypts, and managing a steady stream of curious wildlife. Overcoming these hurdles has taken teamwork: Craig, Minister for Infrastructure, and Fiona, Gardener Extraordinaire, both working hard to build, improve, and maintain their little patch of paradise. Craig has been busy with irrigation, exclusion fencing, and most recently the garden studio — perfect for planning the next project while soaking in the beauty of the garden.

Fiona, meanwhile, has focused on the plants and the soil. Over time she has steadily increased both the depth and quality of the soil with compost, manures, and plenty of organic matter. Chickens have played an important role in the past (and will again once their run is upgraded), while more recently Fiona has been importing manure, mulch, and soil — much of it sourced from the Hobart tip shop — and incorporating charged biochar to support soil health. The results are obvious in the strength and productivity of her plants.

 

Last winter saw one of the biggest changes to this hilltop garden: the creation of a brand new food garden area on what was previously a perfectly flat, fenced, grassed space (aka, the former tennis court). The area now contains nine generous beds designed to allow for crop rotation. Earlier attempts at combining a food forest with annual beds proved challenging, with perennials competing for space and light, leaving the vegetables wanting. The new layout separates these functions, creating a dedicated seasonal crop area while making space in the food forest for flowers as well. 

The combination of thoughtful fencing, watering, soil improvement, and planting has created an incredibly productive garden — but there are still challenges. The former tennis court beds receive regular visits from rabbits, in fact the corn seedlings were eaten to ground level three times this season. Not that you’d know it now, with ears bursting from the stalks. The parsley, however, tells a different story 😊

 

Elsewhere in the garden, Fiona continues experimenting with longer-term plantings. One example is her developing Chilean guava hedge. Originally grown from cuttings and planted in a wetter section of the garden, the plants were later moved when nearby hazelnuts began to overshadow them. Their new location presents a different challenge: competing with surrounding eucalypts for water and nutrients. Like many plants here, they will need to prove themselves tough enough for life on Mt Nelson — a reminder of the patience gardening requires.

A small greenhouse provides a warm refuge for plants that appreciate a little extra protection from Mt Nelson’s cool conditions. Cucumbers, basil, lemongrass, and turmeric thrive inside, while many seedlings begin life there before being planted out into the garden beds.

Fiona enjoys growing produce that is best eaten fresh from the garden or is not commonly available in shops. In addition to the Chilean guava, there is a row of feijoas (Fiona admits she hasn’t yet tasted the fruit but enjoys the petals which she claims remind her a bit of marshmallows!), along with pepinos, hops (no, Fiona and Craig don’t brew beer), and medlar, to name a few.

Fiona and Craig’s garden is expansive and varied — perhaps its most remarkable feature. Every time you wander a little further, there is something new to catch your eye and spark inspiration. From passionfruit and brambles along the tennis court fence to a topiarised bay tree; from a hidden boundary garden planted with fruit trees and herbs to a pomegranate shrub loaded with flowers and fruit, this garden is full of surprises and beauty.

I doubt anyone managed to take in every aspect of the garden, but all good things must come to an end. As always, we lingered to enjoy morning tea, inspect the produce table, and continue chatting about all things gardening. 

Many thanks to Fiona and Craig for generously opening their garden and sharing both their successes and their ongoing experiments with the group. It’s a garden that clearly reflects curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to adapt — qualities every gardener can appreciate.