DAY 1  TUE 15 OCT

Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney

Check in to the 5 star, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. Meet Graham in the lobby, ready for a stroll through The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Opened in 1816, it’s the oldest botanical garden in Australia. Welcome dinner included tonight.

Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney

DAY 2  WED 16 OCT

Vaucluse House

Vaucluse House, this 19th century mansion was the home of Charles Wentworth who developed it to the picturesque estate it is today with ‘Pleasure Grounds’ to match. 

Barangaroo is our last stop today, once a disused container storage site, is now 6 hectares of beautiful, public park on the waterfront with a new harbour cove, stepped sandstone retaining walls, all planted with endemic planting to Port Jackson. The headland has been returned to the people.

Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney

DAY 3  THU 17 OCT

Little Hartley Gardens

The gardens of three fine plantsmen today in the hamlet of Little Hartley. Alan Jackson’s magnificent Gory’u Japanese Gardens and Maple Springs Nursery. David Kennedy’s Highfields, a horticultural triump and Stephen Vella’s Wild Meadows, brilliant in plant selection and design. Lunch is included today.

Carrington Hotel, Katoomba

DAY 4  FRI 18 OCT

Mt Wilson Gardens

The heritage garden village of Mount Wilson is our destination today. First up is Nooroo, now manicured to perfection by Tony and Lorraine Barrett in their 30 years stewardship at one of Australia’s finest private gardens. Windy Ridge is next, the showcase of Rodger Davidson and his late wife Wai. Exquisite cool climate plants including nerines, Japanese maples, hydrangeas and peonies with lunch included. 

Carrington Hotel, Katoomba

DAY 5  SAT 19 OCT

The Australian Botanic Garden

To the Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan and the Australian PlantBank, the largest native plant conservation seedbank in Australia, with over 11,000 collections. Check in to the Carrington Hotel, Katoomba for four nights with dinner included in the hotel this evening.

Carrington Hotel, Katoomba

DAY 6  SUN 20 OCT

Blue Mountains Botanic Garden

Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah is first today, with its collection of cool climate plants. It is the only Botanic Garden anywhere in the world, located within a UNESCO World Heritage Area. Afternoon visit to Winterwood. It’s been a labour of love for this true plantsman, Don Schofield with his collections of rare plants.

Carrington Hotel, Katoomba

DAY 7  MON 21 OCT

Mayfield Garden

Nestled within a 5000-acre working farm in a quiet valley in Oberon is the extraordinary private garden of Mayfield, a spectacular, world-class 65-hectare cool climate garden, the largest in Australia. A triumph of garden design with groves of oaks, beech, conifers, birch and colourful collections of maples. Our private tour reveals both the highlights and the hidden gems. Lunch included today. Travel on to Orange and check into our hotel, The Remington, for three nights.

The Remington Hotel, Orange

DAY 8  TUE 22 OCT

The Garden Curator

A day in and around Orange. ‘The Garden Curator’, Colleen Southwell is inspired by her garden, the natural environment, everyday objects and a commitment to celebrating beauty in the little things. Then, see hundreds of begonias in bloom in the ‘Blowes Conservatory’ and the magnificent tree collection of elms, cedars, bunya bunya pine and the giant sequoia ‘Hug Tree’.

Free afternoon in Orange. Optional scenic drive to Millthorpe.

The Remington Hotel, Orange

DAY 9  WED 23 OCT

Japanese Garden Cowra

We are heading to the famous Cowra Japanese Garden this morning with a stop in Canowindra at Perennialle Plants Nursery. Designed by world renowned architect Ken Nakajima, the Cowra Japanese Garden is more than just a garden, it is a powerful symbol of good will, encouraging reconciliation and peace. Lunch is included today. Farewell Dinner included tonight.

The Remington Hotel, Orange

DAY 10  THU 24 OCT

Orange to Home

Morning visit to Everglades House & Gardens in Leura, developed in 1934, when Belgian-born businessman, Henri Van de Velde, hired Paul Sorensen, Australia’s ‘Master Gardener’, to design a garden on five hectares of sloping orchard in Leura. Sorensen and Van de Velde designed the Art Deco house, recently restored by National Trust. This spectacular ‘inter-war period’ garden intertwines European Romanticism, 1930’s Modernism and the wild magic of the native Australian bushland. Free time in Leura for lunch. 

Travel back to Sydney this afternoon.