Top Workshops and Activities at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

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Thu 22 Mar 2018 - Sun 25 Mar 2018

[SECTION] This year is bigger and better than ever [/SECTION]


This year, the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is bigger and better than ever. It is on now at the Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens, finishing on Sunday 25th March. There are over 800 exhibits to see as well as workshops, talks and activities to keep you informed and entertained. I can tell you that the moment the gates opened this morning, the crowd poured in and the place came to life very quickly.

With so much to do and see, you will easily be able to fill the day, even if you're not an avid gardener, but have an appreciation of a well-designed outdoor space. Or maybe you might want to check out the floral displays, tool workshops or art exhibitions.

[SECTION] Diggers Club Workshops[/SECTION]



The Diggers Club were awarded the Gold for Outdoor Retail Exhibitor, which having seen first hand, I can say was no surprise. The display of heirloom pumpkins is awe-inspiring as are their edible garden displays. The centre story of the displays is about creating your own little garden at home, so it's great for inspiration.

Diggers Club started 40 years ago, so this is a celebration year for them and they have brought people to the show that they've worked with over the years. As a part of this, they have some great workshops running and at the show they're free.



I attended a workshop by Pete the Permie on heritage apple varieties. He has been working with the Diggers club for 15 years, introducing permaculture to Australian gardeners. Pete has over 500 varieties of apples on his farm in Monbulk. He is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to the humble apple.

We learnt some interesting trivia about apples such as the Five Crown London Pippin, which has been in Australia since the 1850s, is also called the Australian framers apple. Bramley's Seedling, another popular variety, is the only apple in the world to have had two cookbooks written about it, so it's very versatile. Mutsu came from Japan in the 1950's, but after the war, it was renamed Crispin, because of political correctness.

He compared these apples to the well-known Granny Smith, which is generally sold under ripe, being picked about two months prematurely; when it's ripe, it's yellow in colour and is a great eater. These apples have a sharpness in their taste, are good for desserts, usually hold their shape better and keep well.

Pete's favourite apple is the Blenheim Orange, and I can understand why. It is dual purpose like the pink lady, it holds its shape for pies, is high in sugar, but has high acids, which means that instead of keeping for about 3 weeks like many apples, it keeps for more like 3 months. It is the apple that is best used for the dessert Apple Charlotte and has a natural cinnamon nutmeg flavour to it. We got to sample this apple and it is a winner for me too.



Other popular varieties are the snow apple, which is bright white on the inside and lovely and sweet. The Coxs Orange Pippin which is England's favourite, often brings back nostalgic memories for those who grew up with it. It is special because you can tell it's ripe when you can hear the seeds rattle.

There really is a lot of history when it comes to apples. This is one of the many topics you can learn about. There are many other talks on heritage varieties, gardening and preserving at the show.

[SECTION]Ryobi Demonstrations & Workshops [/SECTION]



The Ryobi experts have live on-stage builds and hourly seminars where you can learn about the tools and you can learn how to build your own take-home vertical garden. In this workshop, about half the people in the group had never used a drill before. It was a great introductory session where there was a demonstration, then you could have a go yourself, with assistance from experts.



We were shown the basics of predrilling and drilling and with some guidance, everyone successfully made a plant stand. I wished I had my kids with me, as my eldest loves woodwork and getting into tools. He probably would have pushed me aside and done it himself. Kids are able to have a go at the show, as long as they're supervised by an adult.

[SECTION]Floral Design Workshops[/SECTION]



In the floral workshops, they show you how easy it is to create a stunning masterpiece with blooms and native flora from your own garden. The demonstration looked quite simple and surprisingly it was quite easy to replicate. I have been inspired to try this with what I have in my garden at home.



We used moss, dodda vine, bark, forest lace, gum leaves, swan bush (which we were told is weedy up north, but great for displays like this) gum nuts and cymbidium orchid. But you can use anything that you have on hand to make an interesting centrepiece.

[SECTION]Achievable Garden Displays [/SECTION]



The achievable garden section was a highlight for me, it was where I spent a lot of my time. It was fantastic to be able to speak to the designers who are all horticultural students. My favourite was the Retro Urbana by Gayle Brenchley and Ricky Haywood.



I loved the clever use of repurposed materials, such as the door that folded down to become a table, the bench seat has a tank underneath and that the garden was all edible plants. The path was full of thyme, which is beautifully fragrant, though if it wasn't for the eye-catching columnar apples and lemon tree, you might not have realised that it was an edible garden. It was very cleverly done.

After looking at the gardens, if you're on the path to designing your own garden, you have the opportunity to speak to landscapers about your design, so you can take your drawings and photos in and workshop your ideas with them. A great idea for anyone with grand design plans for their garden.

[SECTION]Garden Sculpture Display [/SECTION]


The Association of Sculptors of Victoria has set up an open display of sculptures created by contemporary artists in media ranging from wood, stone, ceramics, bronzes and steel. These sculptures could add life to any garden.



There are some really talented people in this world and this showcases that there are many ways to add to your garden, be it landscaped features, plants or garden sculpture.

#march
#fun_things_to_do
#exhibitions
#city_of_melbourne
#carlton
#gardening
#gardens
#inner_east
#city
#workshops
!date 22/03/2018 -- 25/03/2018
%wnmelbourne