Anticipation builds ahead of Spring Fair

A NEWTOWN community garden will boast 170 years of history when it opens itself up to the community this Sunday.

The Heights Spring Garden Fair has been an annual occasion in Newtown’s Aphrasia Street since 2018, facilitated by the National Trust and the garden’s dedicated volunteers.

The Heights Heritage House and Garden co-ordinator Claudette Brennan said the annual fair was one of the property’s biggest days of the year as the house’s iris beds, cottage gardens and rare plants sprouted eye-catching colours.

“The volunteers hold the fair on the first weekend of spring, when the garden is looking its best,” Mr Brennan said.

“The irises are up, everyone in the community starts to looking towards summer after winter, and it provides an excellent opportunity for us to sell plants from our community nursey to guests.”

The Heights has been a part of Newtown’s hilltops for more than a century and a half and has been cared for by volunteers for over 40 years.

Visitors attending the fair can take in the full array of flora on offer and tour the house itself.

Displays from local community gardening clubs will be showcased while workshops and demonstrations from the Geelong Bee Keepers, Barwon Valley Woodwrights, the Hand Tool Preservation Society, Microbats of Melbourne, and Wyld Works Projects locked in to attend as well.

The Heights volunteer and head gardener Chris Stevenson has grown up with the garden since she was a child, saying the volunteer group had worked extremely hard for decades to keep the block finely pruned.

“We find there are a lot of residents who don’t know about The Heights because it’s hard to see the property from the road, but people are always amazed when they walk through the gates for the first time,” Ms Stevenson said.

“The volunteers always look forward to the Spring Garden Fair because it is when the garden is at its most breathtaking.

“Our team of 40 volunteers is always happy to pass on our knowledge and we’re looking forward to another fair – to date we’ve raised $18,000 from plant sales over the years.”

The Heights Heritage Home and Garden is one of four properties owned by the National Trust in the Barwon region.

Other properties in the region include Barwon Grange in Newtown, Portarlington Mill in Portarlington, and Barwon Park Mansion in Winchelsea.

The Heights Spring Garden Fair on Sunday will run from 10am- 4pm. Entry by gold coin donation.