Hazelbrook-Woodford Garden Festival

17th-18th September and 24th-25th September 2011

There are eight private gardens open to the public from 10am - 4pm on each of these days.

The Hazelbrook Public School has organized this event for over twenty-five years and this year's Garden Festival is proudly sponsored by Blue Mountains Nurseries.

The gardens are a testament to the hard work, imagination and love of nature shown by their owners.The diverse and delightful gardens offer something of interest to all and exhibit a range of landscapes, established trees, flowers, natives, herbs, fruit trees and shrubs set amidst the unique charm of the Blue Mountains.

Enjoy the experience of tranquil walks along meandering paths amongst the beauty of nature. Breathe in the fresh mountain air.

The school has its own greenhouse and propagation facility and plants from the greenhouse will be available for sale at each of the gardens for the duration of the festival. There is always a bargain!

Devonshire teas, light lunch, treats and cold drinks will be available at 'Cedar Grove', 118 Winbourne Rd, Hazelbrook.

The festival is a Hazelbrook Public School P&C initiative raising funds for the direct benefit of the students by providing much needed school facilities.

The gardens open for the Hazelbrook-Woodford Garden Festival are:

• ‘Glenalva’ 154 Valley Road, Hazelbrook (courtesy Kristine McDonald and Tim Sanford)
  ‘Glenalva’ is one of Hazelbrook’s earliest gardens, dating from the 1880s when many of its magnificent exotic trees were planted. It is now a tranquil garden which surrounds the old homestead, with lofty mature trees, thousands of bulbs and a certain eccentricity. You may bring a picnic lunch to have in the grounds of this garden.
   
• ‘Chiltern’ 1 Forbes Rd, Hazelbrook (courtesy Avis & Bill McLeary)
  An established cottage garden with rock walls and stone pathways that meander down past ponds and fountains. Skilful craftsmanship and the creative use of recycled timber for ornamentation and building has created an interesting and delightful back garden.
   
• ‘ Sunnybrae’ 51 Railway Parade, Hazelbrook (courtesy Judy and John West)
  This 1800’s heritage cottage is surrounded by a backdrop of beautiful trees and distant mountains to the north and south. The front garden is designed to complement the age of the home. A stroll down the steps at the back of the cottage pleasantly reveals rows of little hedges together with mature tree ferns, a purple flowering magnolia coupled with blossoms, camellias, citrus trees and a graceful Grecian lady under the old smoke bush. Take time to sit and relax in the tranquillity and ambience of the garden and the beautiful distant landscape.
  Please park in the railway carpark for this garden.
   
• ‘Lotus’ 15 Clearview Pde, Hazelbrook (courtesy Linda and Clyde Appleby)
  Created as a place of peace and tranquillity, Lotus has been evolving out of unruly ‘jungle’ into garden rooms, including a fountain room. Mature exotic trees such as Crab apple, Magnolia and a huge swamp cypress have been enhanced by plantings of Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Gardenias and Lavender. Five ponds have been created from a natural spring. It is a garden of exploration.
   
• ‘Awendell’ 8 Burford St, Hazelbrook (courtesy Kerry and Paul Beaumont)
  Awendell is a mature, small, pretty garden with inviting nooks to sit and contemplate the many vistas. Established trees provide canopies to a wide variety of planting including azaleas, camellias, perennials and ground covers. Potted colour and grafted weeping maples are favourites. Colour harmony is important in this peaceful environment. A feature is the silky oak with an umbrella- shaped grafted grevillea ground cover canopy. This garden has featured in ‘Blue Mountains Life’ magazine.
   
• ‘Falcons Nest’ 20 Falcon St, Hazelbrook (courtesy Martin Kleingeld)
  Falcons Nest is a romantic cottage garden leading into a bush gully, developing beautifully through experimentation with bushcare, permaculture and traditional gardening methods. The extensive landscape features include a natural waterfall, stone paths, exotic and native plants, herbs, fruit trees and many creative examples of recycling and ornamentation.
   
• ‘Dayspring‘ 85 Winbourne Rd, Hazelbrook (courtesy Ken and Jan Goodlet)
  Set on an eastern facing slope, ‘Dayspring’ is an excellent example of applied permaculture. It uses minimal water while still achieving good productivity. This large garden exhibits an abundance of vegetables and flowers with winding paths that meander past many species of nut and fruit trees to a gentle bushland waterfall. It has been featured in the SMH Domain magazine and was open for National Permaculture Day in May this year.
   
• ‘Cedar Grove’ 118 Winbourne Rd, Hazelbrook (courtesy Greg and Kayleen Dutton)
  Gardeners and children alike will enjoy a journey through the developing gardens of Cedar Grove. A mix of Australian natives and exotics along with meandering paths and stone walls help create a number of interesting rooms. Take a seat and enjoy a coffee with a view.
  
  Light Refreshments: Devonshire tea, light lunch, treats and cold drinks will be available at Cedar Grove, 118 Winbourne Road Hazelbrook.
  
  

Treasure Hunt

Bring the kids along to join in the hunt for hidden objects in the open gardens. Winning garden sculptures, created by the students at Hazelbrook Public School for the "Create a Critter Competition" will be hidden in the gardens. Try to find them all and fill up your family garden passport.
 

This information is courtesy of the Garden Festival Website (www.hazelbrookpandc.org.au).