Dig in for flower fest

Lucy Ahrendt and Paul Mottershead holding agastache. Left is rudbeckia and verbena. 190177 Picture: ROB CAREW

 The Diggers Club’s celebration of flowers at the Cloudehill Gardens in Olinda is back.

The Cloudehill Festival of Flowers will run on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 March flower fun and expert tips for the whole family.

Festival-goers can explore Cloudehill’s hot and cool summer flowering borders, join a tour of the internationally renowned gardens with creator Jeremy Francis, enhance their own gardening knowledge with a series of free mini-workshops with industry specialists.

On Saturday at 11am, Tim Drewitt will host a workshop about dahlia varieties and growing and will follow up with a session on autumn bulbs at noon.

Workshops at 1pm and 2pm will cover autumn flowering perennials and attracting bees to a garden respectively.

Carolyn Howells will speak on seasonal flowers at 3pm and garden posies at 4pm.

On Sunday, Fleur Bakker will cover the benefits of back yard chickens at 11am and chicken care at noon.

There’ll be sessions on perennial combinations, planning a flower garden, flowers from seeds and perennial care at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm respectively.

Garden tours will run each day at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

The event will open from 9am to 5pm at 89 Olinda-Monbulk Road, Olinda.

Entry is free for Diggers Club members and children aged under 16 years, and $10 for visitors.

Call 9751 0584 for more information.

The Diggers Club has been helping Australians create beautiful and productive gardens using heirloom seeds and plants since 1978.

Now owned by the charitable Diggers Foundation, Diggers is committed to seed and garden preservation, conservation, education and inspiration.

The club has more workshops coming up at Cloudehill in April, May and June.

To book, call the Cloudehill Garden Shop on 9751 0584 or visit www.diggers.com.au/shop/events/cloudehill.