Loch Village Garden Festival a local delight

EIGHT open gardens will feature in this year’s Loch Village Garden Festival on Saturday November 4, with six of those in the village, and a couple of park-like country gardens.

The festival is presented by Loch Village Garden Club and Loch Village Arts Council.

People are invited to take a walk around historic Loch Village to discover its parks, view garden art and sculpture and purchase fresh local produce from its stores. 

Loch Village eateries offer visitors food and wine from the South Gippsland region. 

On the art front, visitors are encouraged to take in the ‘Return to the Secret Garden’ exhibition in Loch Village, which explores the theme of ‘renewal’, and can also enjoy the Bena Hall Art Show en route to one of the rural open gardens.

The ‘Return to the Secret Garden’ exhibition will be at 1 Clarence Street, Loch and runs until November 7 from 10am until 3pm daily, after commencing at 6pm on Friday November 3 with opening drinks.

Bena Hall Art Show is open November 4 and 5 from 10am until 3pm, with bookings needed for its opening night on Friday, November 3.

In addition to appreciating the outdoors and a spectacular array of plants and settings at the open gardens, there are further opportunities at the festival for those keen to learn more about gardening as Loch Village Arts Council secretary Jan Ashton outlined.

“This year we are delighted to welcome three specialty plant growers to our festival; Urban Tree Growers, Narkabundah Wildflower Nursery, and Strzelecki Heritage Apples will be available for sales and specialist garden advice,” Jan said.

Those specialists will be located at the rear of the Loch Post Office in Roy Street.

Participating gardens will be open from 10am to 4pm. 

Garden Maps will be on sale on the day at the Loch Post Office, corner of Victoria Road and Roy Street, with those maps serving as entry tickets for the open gardens, with adults $10 and children free. 

“Previous festivals have attracted many visitors, and we hope to see more of the same exploring our beautiful garden village,” Jan said.

“We like to bring folks together for a relaxing and informative outing leading up to the festive season.”