Australia's Open Garden Scheme

New South Wales & ACT Special Events

As well as our extensive and exciting program of open gardens, which can be found here, Australia's Open Garden Scheme also has an exciting range of Special Events throughout the year.
Some events require pre-booking and as numbers are strictly limited we urge you to book well ahead of time to avoid disappointment.

Richard Stirzaker garden
O'Connor

Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 February
(No bookings required)

This very excting garden opening celebrates the launch of Richard Stirzaker's new book "Out of the Scientist's Garden, a story of water and food".

Out of the Scientist's Garden is written for anyone who wants to understand food and water a little better - for those growing vegetables in a garden, food in a subsistence plot or crops on vast irrigated plains. It is also for anyone who has never grown anything before but has wondered how we will feed a growing population in a world of shrinking resources.

Richard has created a fascinating garden with fruit and vegetables grown in a sustainable but attractive fashion.

Apricots, apples, peaches, plums, cherries, nashis and grapes are grown as espaliers on wire supports. There's a raised vegetable garden brimming with summer produce.

Richard's garden also features many water saving devices and a visit is sure to inspire.

Address: 3 Mulga St, O'Connor. ACT
Directions: Canberra UBD 49:7C
Open: Sat 20 & Sun 21 February. 10am-4.30pm. $6.00, no charge for children under 18

Farm, Food, Feast at Allsun Farm
Gundaroo

Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 March
(No bookings required)

Just how good can food taste?

Joyce Wilkie and Michael Plane of Allsun Farm are passionate about producing food that not only has the healthy benefits of organic produce, but tastes fantastic.

Farm, Food, Feast is a celebration of locally grown, organic autumn produce. Learn how to grow your own food, wander through the edible garden surrounding the house, and visit the impressive commercial vegetable garden.

Address: 1318 Dicks Creek Rd, Gundaroo
Directions: From Gundaroo travel 4 km N towards Gunning; immediately after Fairfield bridge turn left into Yass River Rd; travel 4.5 km & take second left into Dicks Creek Rd
Open: 10am-4.30pm. $7.00, no charge for children under 18

Barham Community Food Gardens
Barham

Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 March

The Open Garden Scheme regrets that due to unforseen circumstances this event has been cancelled

The Changing Face of Garden Design, with John Patrick
Moree

Saturday 13 March 2010. 10am-3pm

Booking details:
Bookings are essential for this event as places are very limited.

Tickets $70.00 includes morning tea, lunch, illustrated talk & garden walk.

You can book online via our secure site here or phone (02) 6734 4260 during business hours.

Landscape architect John Patrick has inspired gardeners around Australia through his advice on ABC's Gardening Australia and his twelve books on gardening.

In this special presentation developed for rural gardeners, John shows how to garden in accord with changing conditions, to make design and plant choices in response to erratic rainfall patterns, and to display an increased awareness of sustainability.

Illustrated with examples of his favourite Australian gardens as well as the work of other leading contemporary Australian garden designers, John will inspire you to create in your own garden a true sense of place in a changing environment.

Held in the beautifully designed and planted park-like garden of Cooma where four large Chinese elms lead to island beds in a colour scheme of white, blue and grey using 'Iceberg' and 'Tiffany' roses, lavender and agapanthus.

Permaculturally Perfect!
Our Suburban Sanctuary, Port Kembla

Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 March
(No bookings required)

Learn the secrets of permaculture design and planting in two inspiring small gardens featuring subtropical cassava, turmeric, bananas, jaboticaba and sapote as well as herbs, vegetables, poultry and guinea pigs.

Both gardens rely on grey water diversion, composting and worm farms, and have used innovative methods to deal with contaminated soil.

There'll be talks and guided tours throughout the weekend and the adjacent community garden and laneway planted with native rainforest is also available for viewing.

Address: 28 & 30 Third Ave, Port Kembla
Directions: From Sydney travel S on Southern Fwy & Princes Hwy past Wollongong; take exit towards Five Islands Rd & Port Kembla; turn left into Five Islands Rd, travel 5 km & travel through roundabout into Military Rd; travel 1 km to Third Ave on right
Open: 10am-4.30pm. $6.00 (entry to both gardens), no charge for children under 18

Dry Spell Gardening with Brendan Moar
Hall

Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 March
(No bookings required)

Noted landscape designer and Lifestyle Channel television presenter Brendan Moar is passionate about good design and creating inspiring contemporary gardens.

Surrounding a stunning piece of modernist architecture, Brendan has created a garden sympathetic to both its setting and the building. A massive steel pergola incorporates large folding timber panels. A sunken area features a huge vein of granite creating a natural sloping wall, while a series of low walls provide separation between the garden and surrounding paddocks.

With a predominately native planting scheme, this is a garden that celebrates its context and proves that exciting gardens can still be created in tough dry times.

Address: 760 Nanima Rd, Spring Range (near Hall).
Directions: Canberra UBD 9:A5. From Hall travel 4 km along Barton Hwy towards Yass & turn right into Nanima Rd
Open: 10am-4.30pm. $6.00, no charge for children under 18

Sustainable Living
Wentworth Falls

Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 March
(No bookings required)

Arthur and Rosemary Lathouris's commitment to sustainable living is evidenced by the inspiring garden they have developed around their mudbrick house.

The garden includes a large fruit and vegetable garden as well as exotic and Australian plants combined with artistic flair: sculptures, mosaics and other artwork provide focal points.

Arthur is a renowned landscape designer and environmentalist, and he and his wife Rosemary will give informal talks on all aspects of their sustainable garden as well as take tours of the house during the weekend.

Address: 40 Jamieson St, Wentworth Falls
Directions: From Sydney take M4 & Gt Western Hwy to Wentworth Falls; turn left at traffic lights into Falls Rd; take fourth left into Fletcher St, third right into Jamieson St (dirt road)
Open: 10am-4.30pm. $7.00, no charge for children under 18

Sustainable Watson: Growing for the Future
Watson

Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 March
(No bookings required)

Be inspired by the achievements of the Majura Primary School and the nearby Watson Sustainable Garden. They illustrate how sustainability can begin at home and spread into the community.

At the Majura Primary School plants and grasses indigenous to the Mt Majura reserve form and entranceand a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden allows students to grown and eat healthy food.

The Watson Sustainable Garden is best described as a city farm with its combination of food plants, native habitiat, frog pond and chooks.

Throughout the weekend there will be tours and demonstrations, and refreshments and produce will be available

Address: Majura Primary School: Knox St, Watson.
Address: Watson Sustainable garden: 69 Piddington St, Watson
Open: 10am-4.30pm. $8.00 joint fee for both gardens, no charge for children under 18

Plant Fair at Lambrigg
Tharwa

Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 March
(No bookings required)

Gardener's heaven - a wonderful opportunity for passionate gardeners to find that perfect plant as well as meet and talk with specialist growers.

The Scheme is bringing together a group of growers of the most interesting and garden-worthy plants. With everything from bulbs to trees, natives to exotics, as well as garden art, tools and guest speakers - it's an enticing destination for garden-lovers.

The Fair will be held in the grounds of Lambrigg, a garden of great charm and historic significance.

William Farrer developed rust-resistant wheat here, and many of the significant trees were planted by him. The garden is a sheltered oasis with mature conifers and deciduous trees framing views to the Murrumbidgee River. Himalayan cedars and pencil pines shelter plantings of dogwoods and flowing perennial beds with massed roses and lavender. A series of stone walls create terraces and shady garden rooms.

See here for more information and a list of exhibitors.

Address: Tidbinbilla Rd, Tharwa.
Directions: Take Tuggeranong Parkway south to Gordon & turn right into Woodcock Dve, right into Jim Pike Ave & right into Point Hutt Rd; follow to T-junction & turn left into Tidbinbilla Rd (towards Tharwa); garden further 2 km on left
Open: 10am-4.30pm. $8.00, no charge for children under 18

Kunsthaus: Harris Hobbs art house
Deakin

Saturday 24 April. 3pm-6pm

Booking details:
Bookings are essential for these events as places are very limited.

Tickets $55.00 includes afternoon tea.

You can book online via our secure site here or phone (02) 6230 3143 during business hours.

Kunsthaus in German means 'art house' and this is precisely the experience you can expect in the house and garden of award-winning landscape architects Karina Harris and Neil Hobbs.

Join them for an afternoon exploring the integration of art and garden as they guide you through the garden discussing their collection and how it has been put together. You'll also gain insight into the creation of art for private and public spaces.

Karina and Neil's garden features geometric beds of roses and perennials offset by brilliant-foliaged maples. Textural plantings unify the architectural style, while trees shade a series of green rooms containing a wealth of thriving garden-worthy plants, many of them uncommon.