Tourism blooms into spring

YOU might have noticed gardens around Bendigo looking a little bit more colourful lately.

As spring arrived in Bendigo, so too did the annual tulips display and the new City of Greater Bendigo tourism campaign, Bloom.

Over 50,000 tulip bulbs have been planted and garden displays can be viewed at the Conservatory, Canterbury and Botanic gardens.

“It’s an extremely exciting time for our team and our staff, a lot of preparation goes into presenting our heritage gardens for the public,” said Orrin Hogan, municipal coordinator of heritage gardens and amenity landscapes.

“It’s great to know they’ll be able to get out and have a bit of an experience and spend some quality time with their families out in beautiful spaces.”

The display includes annual and perennial plants, with the main event the colourful tulips.

“Obviously, the tulips are our biggest display this year, but we do have some poppies and a tropical display in the conservatory and at the Garden of the Future at the Botanic Gardens is a whole range of Australian native and Californian and other exotic plant life,” Mr Hogan said.

A number of tulip-based events are available, with an online mode of delivery a focus for people unable to see the displays in person.

An online ‘Tulip Cam’ is available on the Bendigo Tourism website and an online curator talk will be held on the City’s Facebook page tomorrow at 11am.

The Bloom campaign includes Summer in the Parks – Spring Edition, with free outdoor events available for families, including live music, movie screenings and an augmented reality tulip hunt.

City mayor Cr Jennifer Alden said spring is a great time for regional Victorians to visit Bendigo and see what’s on offer.

“People have been looking forward to getting out and about, these lockdowns get harder each time and something we’ve noticed with our regional tourism is that we’re getting a lot more people from the regions whilst Melbourne is in lockdown,” she said.

“While we welcome our Melbourne visitors when they can come back, we know that the number of tourists coming here from the regions is significant and increasing. People are learning more about what’s on their doorstop.”