Key Points
- Doris Meilak learned how to garden growing up on her family's farm in Malta.
- Now 73, she has won multiple awards for her gardens in western Sydney.
- She is also in demand as a guest speaker where she shares her knowledge.
- She has been providing tips to audiences through SBS Maltese for over 30 years.
Meilak's garden is proof of her love for nature and dedication to plants and trees which she likes to share with friends.
Her gardens at multiple homes in the western suburbs of Sydney have always been a magnet for neighbours and other people.
As a child in Malta, she said she grew up on her grandparents' farm living off the land, which shaped her own connection to and love of plants and trees.
At that time, in the 1950s and 1960s, Meilak said she worked from dawn until dusk most days, growing crops, planting, and sowing vegetables according to the season and growing fruits to have food all year round.
She also learned how to preserve fruit and vegetables for the winter season. As far as meat and cheese they had their own sheep, poultry, rabbits, and other farm animals.
After marrying her husband Salvu in 1974, and due to a lack of work opportunities, the couple migrated to Australia in the early 1960s during the peak of Maltese migration.
They had two children and Meilak, aged 73, now has two grandchildren.
Meilak has also been a household name for listeners of an SBS Maltese radio segment in which she answers questions about gardening and offers advice.
Gardening awards
Meilak has won several gardening competitions. In 2024, she won The Ann Williams Clark Award for the best garden as part of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Sydney Spring Garden Competition.
"I’m thrilled with the result," Meilak said. "The purpose of awarding this prize to beautiful gardens in front of or around private homes, is for people to stop and admire the garden."
The Sydney Spring Garden Competition run by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW honours the bequest of Lt. Col. Charles Ronald Christian, a British army surgeon who visited Australia in 1933.
Doris Meilak (right) receives the Ann Williams Clark Award from one of the judges, Cecily Rogers. Credit: Doris Meilak
Judge Cecily Rogers said Meilak’s garden on Cumberland Rd demonstrated great attention to detail and many devoted hours.
"Dolores (Doris) embodies the essence of this award perfectly, devoting her time and money to creating a garden for the sole purpose of bringing joy to her community," Rogers said on the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Horticulture Committee's Facebook page.
"The residents of Greystanes are extremely lucky to be able to view such a beautiful garden in their community, especially at Christmas time, when I hear she puts on a very impressive Christmas lights display."
Meilak said her garden changed with the seasons and she tried to maintain the front with vibrant colours all year round.
"I love the garden so much, not only for me and my family, but also for people passing by. I want them to stop, admire and enjoy the garden," she said.
"So, the colours in the leaves of plants, shrubs and small trees are always vibrant."
Even on the miserable days of winter, when there are no flowers, there will still be an exhibition of green, yellow and red leaves to admire.Doris Meilak
When the planting season arrives, Meilak said she carefully selected a wide range of flowers and other plants.
"For this competition, I used (a lot of) white, blue, and pink. They blended and appeared in harmony together," she said.
According to Meilak, working in the garden is a continuous process, because plants and trees died and had to be replaced. She said she sometimes felt disheartened when one of her precious plants died.
"As I like to say, the garden is a never-ending story. One swaps and buys new plants all the time. And the fact that the garden changes from one season to another, makes it also of interest to everyone," she said.
A garden in a side street in Malta.
According to University of North Carolina Health physician, Robert Hutchins, there were many physical and mental benefits of gardening.
"There are physical benefits from doing the manual labour of gardening," he said.
"It’s hard work to garden, and it provides some cardiovascular benefit.
"Gardening gives you a chance to focus on something and put your mind to work with a goal and a task in mind which is helpful especially now with so much illness and talk of death, just to see things growing and thriving."
