19/05/2026
๐ฑ This week weโd like to shine a spotlight on two fantastic local businesses from the Strathfieldsaye & Districts area that share a passion for gardening, growing and helping people reconnect with nature. ๐ป
๐๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ?
Packed with love
Packed With Love began back in 2019 after we ended up with an abundance of sunflower seeds from our garden. What started as packing a few seed envelopes at our kitchen table quickly grew into something much bigger.
Weโre a small family-run business based in Bendigo, with myself and my two boys all involved in different ways. Over time, what began as a love of gardening turned into a business centred around connection, community and helping people through both joyful and difficult seasons of life.
Today we grow and hand-pack seeds for everyday gardeners, while also creating memorial seed packets used by funeral homes, families and veterinary clinics across Australia.
Useful Seeds
My journey into seed work started when I began saving heirloom vegetable seeds. Through gardening forums in the early 2000s, I was introduced to hundreds of unusual varieties, and the only way to grow and share them was by learning to save seed.
That quickly led me into plant breeding, developing things like colourful snow peas, baby purple carrots and perennial leeks. The best way to share these new varieties seemed to be through an online shop, and it just grew from there.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ ๐จ?
๐ Packed With Love
Gardening reconnects people to slower, simpler things. In regional communities especially, thereโs something grounding about growing food, flowers or simply spending time outside with your hands in the soil.
It creates connection between neighbours, generations and families while teaching patience, resilience and appreciation for the seasons.
๐ฑ Useful Seeds
Gardening and growing are important for everyone. A generation or two ago, nearly everyone grew at least some food at home, even if it was just a lemon tree.
Covid highlighted how fragile supply chains can be, with seed racks emptying quickly. Local seed and food security have never felt more important โ and locally grown seed simply grows better.
๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐จ๐จ๐, ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐?
๐ Packed With Love
Definitely. More people are wanting to grow their own food, learn where things come from and create spaces at home that feel calming and meaningful.
People are craving connection again โ to nature, slower living and something real.
๐ฑ Useful Seeds
Covid revived an interest in gardening, and for many people that passion has stayed. Thereโs something deeply satisfying about eating food or enjoying flowers youโve grown yourself.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐?
๐ Packed With Love
Start small and donโt overthink it. Gardening doesnโt have to be perfect โ the best way to learn is simply by trying.
๐ฑ Useful Seeds
Leafy greens are a great place to start because theyโre easy to grow and rewarding. Community gardens are also fantastic for building confidence and skills.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ?
๐ Packed With Love
Small businesses and community groups are often the heart of regional towns. They create connection, support local families and help communities feel personal and genuine.
๐ฑ Useful Seeds
Community groups help keep people connected and supported, while local seed businesses help maintain food security and support local growing conditions.
