Held on 14 and 15 February, the festival invited visitors to explore a curated selection of 14 productive gardens across Adelaide and the Hills. Over the weekend, 3,000 ticket buyers made an impressive 13,000 visits to the gardens, with some particularly determined enthusiasts managing to see all 14.

Chair of Open Gardens SA, Jamie McIlwain, said this year’s event was the biggest and busiest Harvest Garden Festival to date.

“The garden owners truly went above and beyond – not only in presenting their gardens so beautifully, but also in coordinating volunteers,” Mr McIlwain said. “Their generosity in opening their gardens and sharing their knowledge made this festival both successful and genuinely rewarding for everyone involved.”

Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Food on the Table, helping provide free meals to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, escaping family and domestic violence, living in temporary accommodation, or facing food insecurity.

Food on the Table co-founder Mike Chalmers said the donation would make a significant and timely difference.

“This extraordinary donation will help us provide some 25,000 meals to people in need over several months,” Mr Chalmers said. “At a time when people are doing it harder than ever and demand for our service continues to grow, the timing of this support is just perfect. Thank you to all of you from the bottom of our hearts.”

As well as raising vital funds, the festival offered visitors a rare opportunity to see a diverse range of productive gardens, ask practical questions about growing fruit and vegetables at home, and explore different approaches to sustainable, food-focused gardening.