This year’s Mid-Mountains Garden Festival will feature eight gardens that showcase the beauty and diversity of local gardens, and the creativity and hard work of the owners.
Two gardens are returning to the festival in September. Tarraleah in Hazelbrook features an extensive orchard, landscaped gardens, more than 500 bulbs, a variety of chickens and ducks, and home-grown produce for sale.
Glenalva, also in Hazelbrook, has its origins in the 19th century when the first trees were planted. The tranquil garden surrounding the old homestead now has towering, magnificent exotic trees and thousands of bulbs.
Four Linden gardens feature for a second year, including Banool, a garden that was established more than 90 years ago and features a series of “rooms” including cold-climate plants, natives and succulents. Borders of lilli pilli hedges form a walled garden with a wisteria walkway.
Run by the Hazelbrook Public School Parents and Citizens Association, the garden festival raises money for much-needed facilities at the school, including reverse-cycle air conditioning to replace the old, unflued gas heaters in classrooms.
None of the garden owners have children or grandchildren at Hazelbrook Public School, but have generously offered to open their gardens to raise money for the school.
Present your Garden Festival ticket at 20 Mile Hollow café on the highway at Woodford, and you will get a free coffee or tea.
The festival will run on the weekends of September 8-9 and 15-16 from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are available from all gardens and from 20 Mile Hollow Cafe.
Tickets are $5 per garden, or $25 for all gardens ($20 concession). Children under 16 are free if with an adult.
Plants that have been propagated from local gardens will also be for sale at Tarraleah, Banool and 20 Mile Hollow Café.
As part of the garden festival, Barbara Cooper’s fuchsia garden at 4 Allen Street, Lawson will also be open on Saturday November 10, 9am-4pm. There will be hundreds of fuchsias for sale, plus demonstrations of pruning and shaping.
For more details: https://www.facebook.com/HazelbrookWoodfordLindenGardenFestival/ or email hazelbrookgardenfestival@gmail.com.
