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.
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!