The St Kilda Seed and Seedling Stall, run by Emma-Kate Lamb from her home with the help of her family, has become a conduit for connection locally and across the country.
A personal interest in seeds and understanding how they worked was the launching pad for something bigger.
"We were gardening and thinking, well, we are not sowing thousands of seeds only for three or four plants."
About five years ago she began placing packages of vegetable and flower seeds by her front gate, as well as various seedlings.
"I’ve always enjoyed collecting seeds."
People were able to take what they needed, Ms Lamb said.
"People garden for different reasons, whether it is flowers or vegetables or natives."
At first she was simply collecting seeds from what she was using and growing locally, but as more and more people began using the stall she was not able to maintain stock just from the family garden.
"I used social media to ask for some basic seeds just to be able to maintain the seed component."
This had a positive impact, with seed supplies coming in from neighbours as well as from across the country.
"They have come from all over New Zealand, some from Napier, some from Wellington, some from Auckland."
The stall also relied on a simple system of giving back.
"If [people] are able to, if they have time and room, leave a plant or leave a few flowers to collect the seed."
At a time when there were a number of challenges, from climate change to food security, the stall was a chance for people to understand more about what could be grown in their own backyards.
People were sometimes less connected with how things grow and how seasons work, Ms Lamb said.
The seed stall provided a way to share information and advice.
"It opens up a whole narrative or a whole opportunity to look at all those things as well."
People also shared stories when they got in touch.
"We get ideas from people ... how they grow things.
"It is exciting, it is a very quaint sort of activity I guess, but there is something special about that as well.
"This is right at the root of what it is to be human. This is right at the root of what we came from."
