Australia's gardening charity
Clive and Penny Blazey set out to find a better way of life, the good life, when they started The Diggers Club in Melbourne in 1978.
Preservation and conservation sat at the core of the Blazey’s vision for Diggers. Whether this was in preserving historic houses and gardens such as Heronswood (circa 1864) and The Garden of St Erth (circa 1855), planting water-saving gardens or championing heirloom vegetable and flower seeds in the face of corporatisation, Diggers has always been much more than a typical garden business.
The idea of growing their own food to feed their young family, tending a beautiful garden and living sustainably with as little impact on the environment as possible, has been their passion from the start, and over the last 45 years Diggers has worked with experts, shared ideas and discovered a community of believers wanting to connect with nature and live sustainably.
In 2011, the Blazeys established The Diggers Foundation as a registered not-for-profit charity and all proceeds from The Diggers Club, including membership, sales and garden entry, are distributed to the Foundation to help it deliver its charitable mission.
"Through education and understanding we can reverse the generational damage done to our environment but if we don't act quickly, we risk irreparable damage to the planet's climate."
Clive Blazey, co-founder of The Diggers Foundation
Pictured: Penny and Clive Blazey at Heronswood, circa 1983
The humble gardener can make a world of difference
Every garden visit, purchase and membership in The Diggers Club supports the work of The Diggers Foundation, which includes:
- Preserving historical houses, gardens and arboretums.
- Rescuing heirloom seeds through our 'Support a Seed' initiative.
- Supporting communities with our 'Seed the Future program. Over 1.2 million seeds have been donated to community groups since 2023.
- Promote sustainable organic gardening throughout Australia.
- A comprehensive education program for gardeners featuring workshops, masterclasses and online library.
Grow with purpose - our vision
The vision for The Diggers Foundation is to remain Australian owned and funded, to educate on growing and the nutritional benefits of garden to plate, provide food security, reduce living expenses and create inclusive connections with a community of passionate gardeners.
Our mission
To encourage and inspire gardeners to create beautiful and productive gardens for a sustainable future.
