Melbourne has seen its fair share of container clad pop up shops and bars in recent years; Melbournians love a good pop up.
But the latest pop up phenomenon to sprout up at the edge of the city has taken root in a more literal sense.
Run by the gardening gurus at The Little Veggie Patch Co, the Pop Up Patch (PUP) community garden has transformed an abandoned car park into a sprawling urban horticultural oasis.
More than 140 rentable D-I-Y veggie crates are installed at the site, each one rented and tended to by a PUP Member.
In addition to the many individual PUP Members who get their hands dirty at the garden, other notable commercial plot renters include top-notch Melbourne eateries Eau De Vie, Taxi Kitchen, and George Calombaris’ fine-dining restaurant The Press Club.
Two converted shipping containers are located onsite, where PUP Members can buy gardening supplies and attend special community events and workshops.
Given the seasonal, makeshift nature of the PUP, shipping containers were an obvious choice of building material; in terms of durability, versatility, affordability, mobility, and sustainability, containers check all the boxes.
Pop Up Patch operates as an education centre, hosting a range of food, gardening and kids’ workshops that cater for all skill sets, including Edible Gardening for Beginners and Scarecrow Making.
In the four years since it opened, PUP has cultivated a thriving community of inner city green thumbs and sustainability soldiers.
