Rigby Cottage

09/12/2024

Did you know that at Rigby Cottage, we breed very funny and very cute Indian Runner ducks. They are great to keep in your orchard and fabulous pets. Reach out if you're interested.

30/11/2024

We're here at the Tallarook Farmers Market with a range of dwarf and full sized apple and cherry trees and a couple of blackcurrant plants.
There are loads of great stalls, including some new vendors, so come down and say hello!

25/11/2024

It's been a busy few months but we've finally finished documenting this year's apple grafting mission. We have 140 types of apples grafted onto dwarf, semi-dwarf and full sized rootstock. We've also made a bunch of double and triple grafted trees, which are great for small gardens and courtyards and make a unique gift for the apple lover. If you're after something in particular, reach out soon to pre-order as some trees go really quickly.

22/11/2024

We're here at the Lancefield & District Farmers' Market with a range of dwarf and standard sized fruit trees including heritage apples, pears and cherries. It might be too warm to plant them today, but put them in the ground tomorrow and they'll be nicely watered in and have a cool week ahead to get settled. There are lots of great stalls and things to do and plenty of shade so come on up and say hello!

19/11/2024

This Sunday I'll be heading to Toolangi to give a talk about keeping poultry in your garden. All the important things to do with keeping chooks and ducks will be covered including and how they can help your garden thrive.

This Sunday!
We are very excited to have Melissa from Rigby Cottage back at Toolangi - This time it's all about poultry! Join in on this informative and FREE session.

09/11/2024

We're here at the fabulous Avenel Market with a big range of dwarf and full sized heritage apple trees, pear trees and cherry trees. We have two great triple pear trees - three types of pear on one tree. They make a great gift and can be grown in a large pot or barrel.
It's a beautiful morning and there are loads of great stalls here today. Come up and say hello!

08/11/2024

In exciting news, tomorrow at 2pm I'll be giving a free talk about chooks and ducks at the Yea Community House. There are still spots available and you can just turn up.
It's going to be a whirlwind adventure, but here's an idea of the 11 topics that I'll be covering. If I can catch her, I'll be joined by special guest Annie the Bantam.

25/10/2024

We're here at the Lancefield & District Farmers' Market with a range of dwarf heritage apple trees, some self-fertile dwarf cherry trees, a few pear trees, a couple of fig trees and some blackcurrant plants. Buy three trees and get a free mystery apple tree (there are two available and first to come gets the big one).
It's a beautiful day and always a cracking market. Come down and say hello!

25/10/2024

Love a good mystery?
If you do, get on down to Lancefield & District Farmers' Market tomorrow morning, and be the first to buy any three trees from our stall and get this gorgeous mystery apple tree for free.
It's a mystery because it lost its label. There are three tiny apples on it already so all will be revealed in a few months. It's one from my heritage collection, so whatever it is, it is sure to be awesome.
At the market tomorrow, I will have apple, pear and cherry and fig trees available, and a few blackcurrant plants too.

05/10/2024

We're here at the Tallarook Farmers Market with a big range of heritage apple trees, a couple of cherries, some fig trees and a fancy pear. Come down to say hello!

04/10/2024

We're here at the Woodend Community Farmers' Market with a big range of dwarf heritage apple trees, some great self-fertile cherry trees, a triple pear, some blackcurrants and some white strawberries. Come down before the rain.

27/09/2024

We're here at the Lancefield & District Farmers' Market with a big range of dwarf heritage apple trees, some pear trees, some strawberry plants, blackcurrant bushes and a fig tree. It's a delightful morning and this market is always fabulous. Come down to say hello!

07/09/2024

We're here at the Avenel Market and it's gloriously sunny already! We've got dwarf and full-sized apple trees, a self-fertile cherry tree, a couple of pear trees, some blackcurrant plants and a single little strawberry plant. There are lots of great stalls and a fantastic band this morning. Come up and say hello!

06/09/2024

Unfortunately we won't be at the Woodend Market this morning, but we'll be at Avenel Market tomorrow as usual with a bunch of heritage apple, pear and cherry trees.

No nectarine trees available yet, but doesn't this one looks pretty?

23/08/2024

We're here at the Lancefield & District Farmers' Market for another lovely Saturday morning. Today we've got a great range of dwarf heritage apple trees, a couple of pear trees and a single self-fertile cherry tree, but in the most exciting news, I'm doing grafting tutorials all day. Come down any time and ask me to teach you. For $15 you get a lesson, a practice and your very own grafted apple tree to take home. As usual, it's going to be a fabulous market and well worth the lovely drive to get here.

22/08/2024

Would you like to learn to graft your own apple tree?

If so, head on down to the Lancefield & District Farmers' Market this Saturday and I'll teach you. For $15 you can learn how, have a practice on some apple sticks to get your technique right, and then create your own dwarf heritage apple tree to take home. It'll take about half an hour, but give yourself plenty of time to check out the market - there are always loads of great stalls with coffee, delicious food to eat on the spot or take home, amazing produce, musicians and more.

There's no need to book, just pop by my stall in the morning and let me know you're keen to learn to graft. I'll bring a couple of my favourite types of apple to graft including the lovely yellow-ish eating apples, Calville Blanc d'Hiver and Forfar Pippin; the pretty and delicious, Peasgood Nonsuch and Scarlet Nonpariel; and the fabulous cooking apples London Pippin, Grandmere and Ballarat Seedling. If you're after something in particular just let me know in advance.

12/08/2024

My latest project has been to improve the signage at my market stalls. Customers and fellow stall holders have let me know that my apple trees all look the same and that most passers by would not realise that they're all different - the labels are small and don't have images. Not to do things by halves or the quick way, I have taken to hand drawing the different apples on small circles of plywood, attaching a piece of timber with super glue and spraying with clear paint to seal and protect from the weather. The drawing part takes the longest. I've done ten, about 140 to go. And that's just apples.