DAY 1 MON 16 NOV

HOME TO MERRIJIG (MANSFIELD) (D)

Meet your Tour Leader Brendan Moar at Sydney Domestic Airport for your flight to Melbourne. Or meet at Melbourne Airport. From the airport, head straight into Victoria’s High Country and then check-in to your hotel in the picturesque Pinnacle Valley for the next two nights. Welcome Dinner included tonight. 

Accommodation: The Sebel Pinnacle Valley Resort

DAY 2 TUE 17 NOV

SUNNYMEADE (B/L/D)

You'll visit two gardens today that reflect their owner’s creativity. First is Ralph Bristow’s Barwitian Garden. This new naturalistic, perennial based garden is a ‘tour de force’ in design and plant selection. When in the garden you’re completely immersed and floating. As you move through and around it you are drawn to its exquisite detail. Second is the magnum opus of Craig Irving, who in 1986 was influenced by Arts and Crafts-inspired Hidcote garden in the Cotswolds and Sissinghurst. A series of inter-connecting rooms, with creations and sculptures inspired by travels, each with its individual atmosphere or planting style, is Sunnymeade, a garden brimming with ideas designed to enchant and tantilise every visitor who walks through the gates. The owner Craig Irving, has poured his heart and soul and creative energy into every square inch of the one-hectare garden for the last 30 years. You will be feeling horticulturally saturated as you head back to Pinnacle Valley Resort. Dinner included tonight.

Accommodation: The Sebel Pinnacle Valley Resort

DAY 3 WED 18 NOV

STONE HILL (B/D)

Your destination today is Hepburn Springs in the Central Victorian Goldfield. You travel via Seymour for a lunch stop (own expense) and then visit the private garden of Stone Hill, a perennial masterpiece designed by Michael McCoy. You’ll love the drifts of perennials and movement of grasses with an olive-green backdrop created by surrounding gumtrees. Then travel onto Hepburn Springs and check-in to your hotel for the next two nights. Dinner included tonight.

Accommodation: Mineral Springs Hotel, Hepburn Springs

DAY 4 THU 19 NOV

BABBINGTON PARK (B/L)

This morning meet Annie Smithers, award winning chef, writer, author and a true champion of food provenance at her home, Babbington Park. Annie, and her partner Susan, are carving out a self-sustaining existence here. There are two acres of fruit and vegetables to supply their estate and Annie’s restaurant ‘du Fermier’ in nearby Trentham. Flower gardens supply blooms to decorate the chapel and the restaurant. There are cows, goats, sheep, chickens, geese and ducks. Annie is treading very gently on her earth. And she is encouraging her visitors and restaurant patrons to do the same. Annie will have lunch ready for you at ‘du Fermier’, where she creates a menu inspired by classic French farmhouse dishes and ingredients harvested from the garden. What a treat! Then return to the Mineral Springs Hotel in Hepburn Springs with the evening free to wander around this pretty, historic town.

Accommodation: Mineral Spring Hotel, Hepburn Springs

DAY 5 FRI 20 NOV

CERES HOMESTEAD (B/L)

David Glenn’s Lambley is world-renowned as a benchmark in sustainable gardening. David will explain all aspects of this complex suite of gardens as he leads us through his masterwork. Spring has sprung here, dreamy, romantic and tough. You’ll explore the Mediterranean Garden, 
the Dry Garden and the Vegetable and Flower Cutting Gardens. David is a ‘master gardener’, always happy to chat and share his incredible knowledge. It’s a true delight to walk through the gardens with him. Enjoy a treat today at Ceres Homestead with your host, Jane Charles who has restored this beautiful old property to its glory days. Built in 1864 by Thomas Bath, the first licensee on the Ballarat goldfields and famously embellished for the visit in 1867 by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. Jane will show us her magnificent home, refurbished outbuildings and her garden. And she will host us at a long table luncheon. Another day to remember! Check-in to your 5 star boutique hotel Lanson Place Parliament Gardens in Melbourne for the next two nights.

Accommodation: Lanson Place Parliament Gardens, Melbourne

DAY 6 SAT 21 NOV

MELBOURNE DESIGN FEST (B/D)

You'll visit Garden Designfest today, Australia’s premier open garden event celebrating landscape designers and their gardens, for you to explore a curated selection of spaces with diverse styles, ideas and creativity, offering fresh inspiration for your own garden. Farewell dinner is included tonight. 

Accommodation: Lanson Place Parliament Gardens, Melbourne

DAY 7 SUN 22 NOV

MELBOURNE TO HOME (B)

Take the time and enjoy a relaxed breakfast this morning before you transfer to Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport for your homeward flight.