Best Spring Flower Festivals In And Around Sydney

The Dutch have an interesting saying: "If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk. If you want to be happy for a year, get married. But if you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden.”

But worry not if you can’t become a gardener just yet. Spring season is coming to Australia – and with it, some amazing, colourful flower festivals to be enjoyed in and around Sydney. We’ve cherry-picked the best ones for you and your little horticulturalists to take part in. They’re all bloomtastic!

Carnival Of Colour At Hunter Valley Gardens

Hunter Valley Gardens know how to embrace spring fever! Throughout September, their Carnival of Colour celebrates new foliage and flowers. The Gardens will be looking their bloomin’ best with an abundant array of flowers on show, so you can soak up nature at its most stunning in the award-winning, themed gardens.

In October, the Rose Spectacular brings an incredible sensory explosion of colour and fragrance to The Gardens, with 35,000 beautiful rose bushes across the property.

Where: Hunter Valley Gardens
When: 1 - 30 September 2020
Cost: Adults $30; Children 4-15 years $20; Child 3 years and under FREE. Family Passes from $70.

Floriade: Reimagined

If you've got a free weekend up your sleeve, why not visit the one million blossoming bulbs and annuals in Canberra? The annual spring festival is a stunning family-friendly event that should be on every Sydneysiders calendar. In 2020, Floriade: Reimagined will transform Canberra in a whole new way,  moving from its traditional home in Commonwealth Park to bloom across the city creating a tulip trail throughout the ACT. 

All the popular Floriade activities of previous years will be back with Floriade Life featuring workshops, talks, fitness classes and a virtual marketplace. Floriade Sprouts will keep young fans entertained as they uncover gnomes hidden throughout Canberra and learn about the environment. Floriade’s after-dark experience, NightFest, will also return for one night only.

Where: Throughout Canberra. View the Floriade Map for a full list of locations.
When: 12th September to 11th October 2020
Cost: FREE, plus some ticketed events, such as NightFest and exclusive workshops.

Spring Paper Daisies At The Australian Botanic Garden

The Paper Daisy beds at the Australian Botanic Garden are one of their most prized features. Every year, over half a million seeds are planted over the 1,700m² garden which blossoms during spring to light up the wildflower season with their dazzling colours. The display is at its peak from mid-September around the Connections Garden. This annual showcase always draws a flora-loving crowd who can't wait to behold the stunning spectacle. 

The Botanic Garden also features 20kms of walking tracks and green lawns, lakes, gardens, outdoor sculptures, a mountain bike track, an indoor and alfresco cafeteria, as well as a well-stocked plant and gift shop.

Where: The Australian Botanic Garden, Narellan Road, Mount Annan
When: Throughout September to the end of October 
Cost: FREE 

inBLOOM Exhibit At Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Immerse yourself in a kaleidoscope of colour and light at inBLOOM, the latest horticultural exhibition at The Calyx, the Royal Botanic Garden's vibrant arts hub. inBLOOM has over 20,000 plants on display in a spectrum of exotic delights, plus one of the largest living green walls in the Southern Hemisphere. You'll be surrounded by a sensory explosion of flowers as you wander through a breath-taking natural wonderland.

Where: The Calyx, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
When: Open Daily 10am - 4pm
Cost: Entry by donation

Tulip Time In The Southern Highlands

Tulip Time is one of Australia's oldest and best-loved floral festivals, attracting thousands of visitors each year. In just under a two-hour drive from Sydney, you’ll find yourself literally in the middle of the colour-coordinated city-garden of Bowral, the largest town in the Southern Highlands. Corbett Gardens are the centrepiece of the Festival, with more than 75,000 tulip bulbs and 15,000 flowering annuals planted each year, but there are many more to be seen and admired in the city’s abundance of private gardens, which open for the viewings.

The horticultural festivities span across two weeks, with fun activities on top of tulip displays. There are market stalls, daily music performances by local school groups, kids’ workshops and even the street parade of vintage cars. The annual Tulip Time Twilight Procession is also to mark the arrival of Spring. Garden opening hours are 9am-4pm weekdays and until 5 pm on the weekends.

Where: Bowral, Southern Highlands, NSW
When: Tulip Time 2020 is cancelled. 2021 Dates: Tuesday 21st September to Monday 4th October 2021.
Cost: Adults - $12pp, Children 13-17yrs - $7pp, Children – 12yrs and under (accompanied by an adult) FREE

Leura Gardens Festival

Another flower festival will have you speed-journey to the picturesque Blue Mountains in October. Leura Gardens Festival is a more intimate take on a flower show extravaganza, with ten local gardens showcasing their colourful swathes of tulip beds, daffodil lawns, azaleas, rhododendrons and bluebells. Some of the gardens are nearly 100 years old, so you’ll be in for a real visual treat!

There is also a rich music program available at the festival, and all of the concerts take place outdoors in the stunning Nesuto Leura Gardens. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital and other local health organisations.

Where: Leura, NSW
When: Leura Gardens Festival 2020 is cancelled. 2021 Dates: Saturday 2nd October to Monday 4th October and Friday 8th October to Sunday 10th October 2021.
Cost: Access to the gardens costs $8 for an adult (FREE for kids under 16), or $30 for an all-inclusive ticket.

More Fun Weekend Family Trips

We're Off To Bowral
Stay In A Carriage Train
Discover Palm Beach

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