Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show Tour and Gardens of Victoria
Immerse yourself in a botanical journey like no other with our 6-Day Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show Tour & Gardens of Victoria. Designed for the passionate garden lover and luxury traveller, this exclusive small-group experience showcases the very best of Victoria’s floral heritage. From a five-star stay in the heart of Melbourne to private tours of world-renowned gardens, including the iconic Cruden Farm and the celebrated Diggers Foundation sites, this tour promises inspiration, indulgence, and unforgettable natural beauty.
Inclusions
• Four nights’ accommodation in a centrallylocated five-star hotel, plus one pre-nightaccommodation before the tour
• Return private airport-to-hotel transfers, plus nine meals
• Travel in a small group of just21 guests on an exclusive departure withYOU Travel Bethlehem
• Experience the Melbourne InternationalFlower & Garden Show, including apre-visit lecture
• Visit the Diggers Foundation gardensof St Erth, Cloudehill & Heronswood.
• Explore the garden of the late Dame ElisabethMurdoch, Cruden Farm
• Tour the nursery of Antique Perennials to learnmore about this style of garden
ITINERARY
Day 1. Melbourne, Heronswood Garden and Cruden Farm. Depart Melbourne Marriott Hotel at 8.30 am. Travel to the Mornington Peninsula to visit Heronswood Garden in Dromana, the home of the Diggers Club, and enjoy a tasting plate lunch. Have a behind-the-scenes visit to the heirloom vegetable trial and production gardens with the head gardeners to learn about growing your own vegetables from heirloom seeds. Afterwards visit Cruden Farm, home of the late Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. Explore the expansive gardens which Dame Elisabeth was so fond of.
Stay: Four Nights, Melbourne, Marriott Hotel or similar.
Day 2. Macedon Ranges, Garden of St Erth, Babbington Park and Paul Bangay’s Stonefields. Visit the Garden of St Erth, one of Australia’s most exciting cool-climate gardens and home to a collection of rare and unusual plants. Next, visit the home and garden of celebrity chef, Annie Smithers. Have lunch here before enjoying a special garden tour of Stonefields, the private garden of Paul Bangay. Stonefields is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Italian hill villas and gardens.
Day 3. Yarra Valley Gardens – Edible Forest, Alowyn and Antique Perennials. Travel to the Yarra Valley to visit the Edible Forest. With over 300 plants growing within a one-acre forest garden, everything is either edible or medicinal. Then travel to Alowyn Gardens, a beautiful garden designed along strong symmetrical lines. Continue to Kinglake to visit Antique Perennials nursery and display garden, where you’ll see hard-to-find perennials, bulbs, grasses and alpines. During dinner tonight, enjoy a special Melbourne Flower Show lecture by regular judge Teena Crawford.
Day 4. Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Enjoy a full day at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Regarded as the largest and most successful horticultural event in the Southern Hemisphere, it is rated among the top five flower and garden shows in the world.
Day 5. Dandenong Ranges, Cloudehill Garden, Fortnums Lunch, Phillip Johnson Garden and Melbourne. Visit the acclaimed Cloudehill Garden, with its extensive herbaceous borders, roses and azalea walks. Enjoy a Farewell Lunch at the beautiful Fortnums Restaurant. Afterwards, visit the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden and admire the new Australian Garden, designed by Phillip Johnson—this is a replica of the award-winning garden Phillip exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2013. Return to Melbourne, where our tour concludes at the Marriott Hotel at 5.00pm.