Diggers Insect Hotel
Insects play a huge role in the garden – they pollinate food crops and protect plants from unwanted pests. Keep the good creepy crawlies in your plant patches happy and at home with the Diggers Insect Hotel. Hang it from a fruit tree or stand it in a sheltered, sunny position in the garden to provide nesting rooms and protection for your insect pals.

Deadly Ponies x Everyday Needs Garden Tote
Who says gardening gear can’t be stylish? I love this bucket tote collab from NZ designers, Everyday Needs x Deadly Ponies. In a durable waxed khaki cotton and with loads of pockets and space, this is the perfect home for all of your gardening tools and essentials. In fact, it’s so good that you’ll likely be looking for any occasion to use it – gardening or not!

Mountain Range tableware
Feeling like a breath of fresh air? Escape to the hills during your next feast with the gorgeous Mountain range tableware from Sydney designers and makers, the Fortynine Studio. Built by hand in Marrickville, each piece of stoneware is cerulean slip patterned and textured with handwoven fabric.

APRIL EVENTS
Here’s some good garden and plant stuff to see/do during April.

COLLECTORS PLANT FAIR
April 8-9

The Collectors Plant Fair is the bees knees. With over 90 specialist growers from all over Australia, you can find all sorts of rare and gorgeous treasures. Take a trolly, take a ute, hire a truck. You’ll fill it.

Hawkesbury Race Club
Tickets: Weekend pass – $25, Saturday only – $15, and Sunday – $13 (discounts for online bookings)

MAYFIELD GARDEN AUTUMN FESTIVAL
April 14^th-29th

Don’t miss the magic of Mayfield Garden’s Autumn Festival, taking place over 16 days this month. One of the world’s largest privately owned cool climate gardens, Mayfield expands across a breathtaking 150 acres and features immaculate lawns, an 80 metre cascade, kitchen and water garden, grotto, waterfall, obelisk and box hedge labyrinth. Any visit in Autumn is made even more special with a row around the picturesque Mayfield lake – it’s an unforgettable way to take in the colours of the season.
Mayfield Garden, 530 Mayfield Rd, Oberon, NSW 2787.

Tickets: $15-90

SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS AUTUMN OPEN GARDEN WEEKEND
21^st April & 22^nd April

Home to some of Australia’s best gardens, the Southern Highlands truly comes alive over Autumn. This year’s Open Garden Weekend welcomes the public into some of the most magnificent privately owned cool climate and English styled gardens in the region, including Prittlewell and Roberton Park. Plant collectors and nursery enthusiasts will love visiting the Botanic Gardens where the SHBG Plant Growers Group will have an array of rare, unusual and hard to find plants for sale.

Southern Highlands Open Gardens and Botanic Gardens

Tickets: $35 all weekend pass with entry to all 5 gardens, $10 single garden visit, school children free. Plant fair entry free.

PLANTY FIERCE
April 28, 10-4pm

Get up close and personal with two plant-driven Central Coast gardens at ‘Planty Fierce’. The event will feature designer Peter Nixon’s Sea-Changer garden at Forresters Beach and Ray Henderson’s ‘Paradox’ garden at Glenning Valley. There’ll also be plant sales. Head up from Sydney and make a day of it!

Tickets: $10 at the gate.

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