Adelaide Botanic Garden is hosting its first Great Botanic Seed Swap and Share on Sunday 11 October, transforming the Rose Garden Pavilion into a celebration of seeds, gardening and community connection.
Held as part of the Nature Festival, the event invites gardeners to bring along saved seeds from common kitchen garden plants and exchange them for something new to grow at home. Never saved seeds before? You can still join in by making a small donation to purchase tokens and swap to your heart’s content.
Funds raised will support the vital conservation work of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, which protects the state’s rare and threatened plant species from extinction.
Director of Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, Michael Harvey, said the event offers South Australians a chance to come together over a shared love of gardening while supporting plant conservation.
“There’s something wonderful about saving a seed from your garden, sharing it with someone else and knowing it could become part of another thriving garden,” Harvey said. “It’s a great way to try something new in your patch and discover exciting varieties of vegetables, herbs and kitchen garden plants you might not have come across before.”
What to expect
The day has all the atmosphere of a community fete, with hands-on stalls, children’s activities, live music, a sausage sizzle, tours and workshops. ABC Radio Adelaide will broadcast live from 10am to 12pm, with Sophie Thomson hosting her talkback gardening program from 11am.
Activities include drawing demonstrations by the Friends Botanical Art Group, nature crafts by the Diggers Club, origami seed packet folding with Green Adelaide, a Tomato Tombola, and a touch table from the Botanic Gardens Education team. Tutti Arts’ “The Beekeepers” will deliver roving performances from 11.30am to 1.15pm, followed by Musical Plants with Flavio and Clarens from 12.15pm to 2.15pm.
Workshops and tours
Book a workshop or tour to make a full day of it (separate ticket required):
- The Journey of a Seed: Stories from the Seed Conservation Centre, with scientists and flora ecologists working on the frontline of plant conservation (10.15am to 11am)
- Behind the Seeds: A 30-minute sneak peek at the laboratories and seed bank (three sessions: 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm)
- Pods Hold Stories: A seed drawing workshop with local artist Stephanie Doddridge (two sessions: 12pm to 1pm and 1.30pm to 2.30pm)
What seeds to bring
Kitchen garden vegetables, fruits, herbs and companion plants such as flowers, including edible ones. Bring them however is convenient and the team will package them up for swapping. For biosecurity reasons, wild-collected seeds and those from plants on the declared weeds list are not permitted.
Details
When: Sunday 11 October 2026
Times: Session one 10am to 12pm; session two 12.15pm to 2.15pm
Where: Rose Garden Pavilion, Adelaide Botanic Garden (reference B6 on the map)
Tickets: $15 per person; children 12 and under free
Bookings: botanicgardens.sa.gov.au
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