GREEN THUMBS: Millthorpe garden ramble chair John Ash with Millthorpe Public School students Matthew Brown, Alex Sinclair, Amy Coplein and Finn McDonell. The school will open up their garden as part of this year's ramble. Photo: STEVE GOSCH
WARM spring weather, gardens in full bloom and the greenest of green thumbs are key ingredients to this year’s Millthorpe garden ramble.
Four villages and six outlying gardens will be open on the weekend of November 17 and 18 for this year’s event.
Acreages, ornamentals, orchards and hidden backyard garden gems are among the line-up to explore.
Millthorpe garden ramble chair John Ash said this year’s event would be bigger with a number of new additions.
“We’ve had extraordinary interest this year mainly because the dates have been changed,” Mr Ash said.
Since its beginning the ramble has been held on the October long weekend, however years of dismal weather have lead to the event now being moved to mid-November.
“The weather was too unpredictable on the October long weekend and the gardens are more at their peak at the ramble [later this month],” he said.
The lower end of Pym Street and around the railway station will be closed to traffic to make way for garden stalls of every type.
“We’re working to create a garden fair,” Mr Ash said.
There will also be floral arranging and landscaping talks held across the weekend.
Millthorpe Public School will be one of 10 locations throwing open their garden gates to welcome in the crowds.
Assistant principal Peggy O’Brien said the school was an important part of the community and they were looking forward to inviting people in.
“It’s a great chance to show off the school and the community really supports us,” she said.
The school’s landscaper and groundsman Graham Smith will be on hand both days to discuss the ongoing gardening work around the grounds.
“He puts his heart and soul into it, he really does,” Mrs Smith said.
A ticket to see all 10 gardens is $15 or individual gardens are $5.
Gardens are open from 10am to 4pm each day.
All funds raised from this year’s ramble will go towards renovations of the kiosk at Millthorpe’s Redmond Oval.
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