Ruth Robins has turned a former calf paddock into an on-farm nursery and garden on their Cohuna dairy farm.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
The calf paddock on the dairy farm of Ruth and Russ Robins at Cohuna has had quite the makeover, after the family decided to take the plunge and follow a long-held dream to establish a nursery and country garden.
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Up until September last year, the site was still used as their main calf paddock.
“I was helping Russ with his contracting driving tractors and my daughter Emily asked me ‘what do you really to do Mum’ and I said I just want to garden all day,” Ruth said.
“Cohuna no longer had a place to buy plants after the Elm Tree Nursery closed and I thought that’s what I want to do — run a nursery from our farm.”
So with encouragement from their two girls, the couple decided to get their hands dirty, give it a go and establish their nursery ‘Robins Nest’.
The nursery and shade house.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
They lasered the calf paddock and the first plants were in the garden beds by the end of September 2024.
And then with the establishment of a shade house, they were up and running.
Ruth said Emily has a background in marketing and she encouraged Ruth to host an open day on Mother’s Day this year.
“We weren’t really expecting too many people to turn up but the car park was full and people just kept driving in — it was amazing,” she said.
“We had so much support and positive feedback from so many lovely gardeners who really liked our space and said what a good job we had done.”
Ruth and Russ Robins are diversifying their Cohuna dairy farm.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
Ruth said so many people lamented the fact they didn’t have a nursery in their town and they loved that she was giving it a go.
Like all new business operators, the couple have some pretty big plans for their future.
“Money is a limiting factor at the moment because we are just getting started but down the track we have plans to build a big barn style shed to house other lines including garden furniture, pots and of course more plants,” Ruth said.
Currently they stock fruit trees, citrus, ornamentals, natives, roses and lots of cottage plants including salvias, fuchsias, penstemons and other perennials.
Ruth also has a personal interest in medicinal herbs.
“We are trying to get in the stock people are asking for and we have just started stocking potting mix and a few other lines including some organic fertilisers.
“Of course we have plans to grow all our lines in the future, Christine (former Elm Tree Nursery owner) has been so supportive.”
Some of the plants available at Robins Nest.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
The couple intend to make their nursery a destination garden as well.
“We know people who love gardens love to travel and have a wander and that will be our target audience — we want to eventually attract people from across the state as well as locals,” Ruth said.
They are also in the process of building a post-and-rail fence around the nursery with timber they harvested from their property.
“The previous owner of the farm established a timber plantation on an area where he couldn’t grow any feed,” Ruth said.
“We were able to harvest some of that timber ourselves with the help of a contractor and use it to build our fence — there is still plenty of timber left behind and it is still like a forest down there.”
Hidden treasures.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
Ruth and Russ purchased their dairy farm in 2009.
Over the years they built stock numbers up and transitioned the 180-head, year-round-calving Holstein herd to A2.
They currently supply ACM.
“We aren’t quitting the industry. Our two girls are still very keen on the dairying side of things — we are just diversifying,” Ruth said.
“The girls will eventually take over the running of the farm and Ruth and I will just run the nursery,” Russ said.
“We are trying to get in the stock people are asking for and we have just started stocking potting mix and a few other lines including some organic fertilisers,” Ruth Robins says.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
