The Festival of Country Gardens held in November each year in Bridgetown, Western Australia should be on everyone’s travel wish-list.
Bridgetown, three hundred and thirty kilometres South of Perth, is an easy four-hour drive. Forget Margaret River for your next trip to the South West!
John and I stayed in the town, courtesy of Elizabeth and Peter Worts, my sister and brother-in-law. Over the five days of the Festival, we visited gardens large and small, new and old, traditional, quirky. Passionate gardeners had carved them from farms and bush-land within a radius of twenty kilometres from town centre.
The picture below shows the view of part of their garden from Elizabeth’s and Peter’s kitchen window. I wondered why I needed to venture out to visit Festival Gardens when the one outside was so lovely.
Owners and gardeners greeted visitors with smiles, coffee, home-made cakes and scones, and a wealth of experience which they shared with enthusiasm. We came away from Bridgetown buzzing with the delights we’d seen.
Although we no longer have a garden, the memory of those gardens lingers. You can read about the end of our active gardening lives in a blog post here. Surprisingly, I don’t miss gardening, although I do miss a garden in which to potter.
My indoor plants thrive like pampered children under my zealous care. The few pots of herbs on the balcony reward me with a constant culinary supply.
Festival of Country Gardens
The Festival of Country Gardens will be held from 1 to 4 November 2018. Comfortable accommodation in the town and nearby districts welcomes visitors all year round. Bridgetown Shire also sponsors other festivals through the year. They include a Blues Festival, Winter Festival and the Bridgetown Show. There is also the Bridgetown Writers Festival.
This post is in response to a photo challenge with the title Festivals. You can link to the photo challenge here if you would like to join.
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Oh, Maureen these gardens are lovely, particularly the one belonging to your sister. What a wonderful idea this is, a festival of gardens. I enjoyed reading your final gardening post too.
I’m glad WordPress sorted the link issue, and I thank you for linking to our photo challenge.
Thanks for your comment, Sue, and glad you liked my pictures. I enjoyed being part of the challenge, and it wasn’t at all complicated, as I thought it would be. Now I might be a bit less nervous in future.
Yes, the garden festival is a wonderful idea and the whole town of Bridgetown was caught up in it. As well as the actual gardens, the streets were also decorated with flowers.
Sounds absolutely lovely!