The Leura Gardens Festival in an annual event taking place in October featuring a selection of private gardens and the National Trust Property Everglades.
October is a perfect time to enjoy the springtime displays of the cool climate exotics and the Leura Gardens Committee never fail to come up with an excellent selection of gardens to present the best of the season.
The gardens vary in size, many take advantage of the topography to create a rich woodland feel, others distinctly suburban acre blocks that have been transformed into living showcases of the art of cool climate gardening.
There are gardens with rolling lawns, neat stone walls and colourful borders jammed with spring bulbs and others with magical winding paths and hidden shady nooks beside bubbling streams.
All the gardens have been beautifully prepared for the festival and are a mass of colour, especially Rhododendron including a wide array of species and hybrids like Mollis and Kurume along with the larger bloomed Rhododendron species.
Springtime camellias, dogwoods, magnolia, viburnum, wisteria and clematis are to be seen in lush displays in most gardens and some artfully combine these northern exotics with local natives like waratahs, often to good effect.
When this reviewer visited there was one garden with the largest Telopea (waratah) he had ever seen at 5m by 5m and in full bloom as well.
With ten gardens (including the ever popular and rambling Everglades) all included in your $20 ticket, this garden festival is excellent value and it will require around two full days to get the best out of it. But Leura is picture postcard pretty, has plenty of accommodation, some enchanting coffee shops and gift emporia and one of best eateries in the state – Silks – at the top of the high street.
For those wanting to make the best of their trip then also plant to see the Campbell Rhododendron Gardens at Blackheath, about a fifteen minute drive away.
Author: Bob Saunders.
Restaurant The private gardens do not offer refreshments but there are many cafe and restaurants in Leura. Everglades also offers tea, coffee and cakes during the festival.
Toilets Not available in private gardens however there are many around the town and at Everglades garden
Disabled Access Most of the private gardens with small paths and often many steps they are not suitable for wheelchairs or prams. Everglades has wide paths suitable for chairs but some are relatively steep.
Inter-Garden Travel A hop on hop off shuttle bus runs from Leura station to all gardens on a regular schedule. Tickets $5.00 per day.
Road: M4 from Sydney
Rail: City Rail Blue Mountains line runs a regular service from Sydney Central.
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