Rotary Garden Designfest to come to Geelong and surrounds

THIS month, the Rotary Club of Kardinia will present their Rotary Garden Designfest, a premier garden exhibition that will raise funds for youth suicide awareness.

On November 19 and November 20, the Rotary Club of Kardinia is partnering with the Rotary Club of Kew, Brighton North, and Central Melbourne to bring Australia’s premier open garden weekend to Geelong and surrounds.

Four district gardens in Geelong, Point Lonsdale and Inverleigh will join 33 other gardens across Metro Melbourne and Regional Victoria for the showing of talented professional designers.

Whilst the occasional Geelong garden has been showcased in the long running event, 2022 will mark the first time that a Geelong club has managed the inclusion of a group of local gardens.

Rotary Club of Kardinia member and past president Ben Systermans said the club was thrilled to be given the opportunity to field some local gardens.

“There is certainly a fair amount of excitement around our inclusion this year,” he said.

“The three clubs have been running it for years and we were thrilled when we were approached to help them out with some local gardens.

“Once we got approached, we called around to all our garden designers that we know that work in the Greater Geelong area to see if any of them had an owner that was willing to display their work.

“It’ll be primarily focused on the work of professional designers as opposed to homeowners themselves.

“All our designers have just done some fantastic work and we are always going to be lining up to assist the signature charity which is Youth Suicide Awareness.”

While many famed garden designers such as Paul Bengay and Eckersley Garden Architecture are showing gardens across the state, Geelong’s Christian Jenkins is showing off a garden in Roebuck Street, Newtown.

Mr Jenkins won the Gold award at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show as well as Gold at the Singapore Garden Festival.

“People will be able to talk to the designers themselves, we are hopeful that Christian (Jenkins) can come along to the Newtown garden which he designed; it’s an amazing creation,” Systermans said.

“We’ve also got a coastal garden in Point Lonsdale designed by Nathan Hovey and the contrast is a cottage type garden that Stephen Read has designed in Foster Street in South Geelong.”

Mr Systermans said the exhibitions would not only support Youth Suicide Awareness but also support the Rotary Club itself.

“We will receive a portion of the proceeds for some of our local community projects across the region including Hope Bereavement and Northern Bay College.

“It’s an honour to be a part of supporting [the overall] endeavour (Youth Suicide Awareness), it’s a major problem and whatever we can do to alleviate that situation is obviously a good thing.

“We’d like to put our shoulder to the wheel, so to speak.”

All local gardens will be open between 10am and 5pm on both the Saturday and the Sunday.

For more information on both the gardens and their designers, head to gardendesignfest.com.au