Daylesford, Mornington and Melbourne with Claire Bickle

DAY 1 Monday 16 March, 2026 Dandenong Ranges
Please arrive at Melbourne Airport and be ready to depart by 1.00pm. We will be met by our private coach and be driven through the picturesque countryside to visit Blue Lotus Garden. We will see 5.7 hectares of lakes and waterways covered in thousands of stunning lotus, waterlilies and other exotic flowers. We continue to our hotel, where we will enjoy a welcome dinner this evening for tour members to get to know one another. Claire Bickle will outline the activities and program for the tour.

DAY 2 Tuesday 17 March, 2026 Dandenong Ranges
We travel to the nearby Dandenong Ranges to visit two stunning gardens. First, we visit Cloudehill, our first Diggers Foundation Garden. A maze of stone walls and jewel-like garden rooms are set within woodlands of historic cool climate trees. We will have an included lunch here as the food is as good as the gorgeous views. In the afternoon, we travel to the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden. In 2013, Phillip Johnson and Wes Fleming’s Trailfinders ‘Australian Garden’ exhibit became the first ever Australian entry to win Best Garden at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. This ‘Australian Garden’ has been re-created on over 7,000 square metres of previously unused space for locals and visitors to enjoy in the Dandenong Ranges.

DAY 3 Wednesday 18 March, 2026 Mornington Peninsula
Today we travel to the Mornington Peninsula to visit some of the best gardens in Australia. Our first visit is to The Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne. Claire will take us on an exploration of the spectacular landscape which has a dramatic red sand garden, rock pool waterways, eucalypt walk and exhibition gardens all featuring Australian plants. We continue with a visit to Heronswood Gardens, home of the Diggers Club and our second Diggers Foundation garden. In 2011, the Blazey’s gifted ownership of the Diggers Club to the Diggers Foundation, which strives to conserve historic gardens, buildings and protect heirloom seeds. We will have lunch at the Heronswood Cafe, where the vegetables and fruits served include heirloom selections picked straight from the gardens. This is followed by a tour of the gardens and a stroll through Diggers nursery and gift shop to browse their large range of heirloom vegetables, flowers, and fruit plants for sale.

Day 4 Thursday 19 March, 2026 Mornington Peninsula
Our first visit today is to Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’s garden of Cruden Farm. The star attraction is the main driveway, which features over 100 established lemon scented gum trees. In truth, there are many gardens to enjoy, each one different in style, plantings, and mood. Each area was carefully planned by Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Michael Morrison. To this day Michael is still implementing Dame Elisabeth’s long-term plans for various areas across the garden. The Picking Garden truly reflects the changing seasons at Cruden Farm and during spring, summer and autumn is alive with thousands of blooms and glorious colour. The Walled Garden, originally designed by influential Australian landscape designer Edna Walling, has undergone changes since it was first planted out in the early 1930s. This afternoon’s visit is to Karkalla, the .8 hectare private garden of celebrated landscape designer Fiona Brockhoff. Fiona specializes in naturalistic landscapes that incorporate low maintenance drought tolerant plants both native and exotic. There will be many useful ideas for us to take home from her gorgeous garden.

DAY 5 Friday 20 March, 2026 Daylesford
We travel to Daylesford for our three nights stay today. Our first garden visit is to Stonefields, Paul Bangay’s spectacular garden developed using knowledge gained during twenty years designing gardens all around the world. This garden is one of the many highlights of our tour and includes stone paths that meander through garden rooms that open out to a spectacular country view. We continue our journey with a visit to the peaceful garden, St Erth, our third Diggers Foundation garden. We will see beds full of hardy perennials and incredible edibles grown with Diggers heirloom seeds. This evening Claire will meet those wishing to dine with the group.

DAY 6 Saturday 21 March, 2026 Daylesford
Our first visit this morning is to Lambley, the wonderful garden of acclaimed plantsman David Glenn. Situated around an old farmhouse in the hot dry windswept plains of the Central Victorian Goldfields, it features a wide range of colourful, frost and drought hardy plants and is a vibrant showcase of Glenn’s clever design abilities. The extensive organic veggie garden includes trial gardens for vegetables and flowers. In the afternoon we visit the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. Founded in 1858, it covers an area of 40 hectares divided into three distinct zones with a central area preserving the ‘Gardenesque’ style of the Victorian pleasure garden. Located on the western shore of picturesque Lake Wendouree, is the conservatory, a highlight of the gardens that will be full of spectacular tuberous begonias.

DAY 7 Sunday 22 March, 2026 Daylesford
Today we travel to visit Marilyn’s Wildflowers near Bendigo. It is a 4-hectare property with 2 hectares of Australian wildflowers used for floristry. It is in a garden style borrowing the natural landscape of the surrounding Box Ironbark Forest. The backbone of the garden is local native plants with many stunning grafted wildflowers from W.A. including Qualup Bells, Verticordias, Darwinias and Boronias. There is also a vegetable garden and orchard and a small nursery. After free time for lunch, we visit Simon Rickard’s garden. Fighting the urge to become a mere collector, Simon has attempted to wrestle his eclectic botanical tastes into a coherent, composed garden. Full of exuberant colour, flowers, foliage plants, and exotic rarities from around the world, Simon’s garden aims to challenge and inspire visitors. We return to our hotel late afternoon.

DAY 8 Monday 23 March, 2026 Melbourne
This morning we will travel to Macedon to visit several gardens. Our first tour is at Duneira Estate. This unusual and remarkable 15.4-hectare property and garden was purchased in the 1870s by Suetonius Officer and are considered to be of 'outstanding cultural significance' by the National Trust of Australia; several of the trees are listed on the Register of Significant Trees of Victoria. We walk across the road to visit Shepherd’s Bush. At 870 metres above sea level, Shepherd’s Bush is a 1.5 hectare garden and is the highest residence on the mountain. The garden showcases many cold climate plants including rhododendrons, maples, conifers, viburnums and dogwoods. We continue to our hotel in Melbourne for check in. Claire and the tour manager will meet those wishing to have dinner together in the lobby.

DAY 9 Tuesday 24 March, 2026 Melbourne
This morning we travel to visit the house and garden of Rippon Lea. Now owned by the National Trust the house was completed in 1868 for Frederick Sargood. He moved in with his wife and nine surviving children and seventeen staff. Sargood was a keen gardener with a particular interest in orchids and ferns. During our visit we walk through the arched, cast-iron lattice work to enter the wonderful 19th century fernery, which contains rare and native ferns. We continue to the Melbourne Botanic Gardens which covers 36 hectares. We will visit Guilfoyle’s Volcano. Built in 1876 as a water storage for the gardens, it was recently restored as part of a landscape development project. It has commanding views of the city and showcases low water use plants. Boardwalks and a viewing platform give visitors an opportunity to explore this remarkable feature of Melbourne Botanic Gardens. The remainder of the afternoon is free for sightseeing or shopping.

DAY 10 Wednesday 25 March, 2026 Melbourne
Today we visit the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, the biggest and best show of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and ranked in the top five flower shows in the world. Floral displays fill the world heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and the surrounding Carlton Gardens. Around the building are landscape displays created by some of Australia’s most talented landscape designers. Claire will give those interested a tour of the display gardens – pointing out elements used by the designers that we can incorporate in our own backyards. While keen gardeners will want to spend all day at the show, others may also take time to visit the adjacent Melbourne Museum. This evening, we will have dinner at a nearby restaurant to say goodbye to Claire and other tour members.

DAY 11 Thursday 26 March, 2026 Departure
The morning is free for individual activities. We travel to the airport at noon for flights home and the tour concludes. Please ensure your flight departs after 3.00pm.