Events
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Christine’s Garden
Christine's Garden 48 Weathers Street, Gowrie, ACT, AustraliaA great favourite returns for its first autumn opening since 2019! Enjoy this very large suburban garden and its amazing variety of plants. Rock walls allow for built up garden beds with improved soil and drainage. English box hedges divide areas including a parterre garden. Large mirrors on the boundary fences create illusions of depth. Deciduous [...]
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The Living Block
The Living Block 85 Costello Circuit, Calwell, ACT, AustraliaStep into a vibrant, productive garden where beauty and function grow side by side. Set on a large Calwell block, this thriving space blends cottage-garden charm with abundant edible planting. Wander through a landscape alive with wildlife, explore the tranquil garden pond and fern gully, and enjoy the soothing sound of water features tucked throughout.
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New Hope
New Hope 6 Glover Drive,, Yass, NSW, AustraliaThis hilltop four-acre property with sweeping river-valley views has, in just four years, been transformed into an extensive and richly layered country garden. Hedges, arches, gazebos, seats, fountains and lawns frame cottage borders, ancient, old and modern rose walks, lavender banks, crabapple terraces, a grand dahlia field (in full bloom), woodland gardens, fruit, nut and berry orchards, cutflower and vegetable beds, and an antipodean retreat. The many rare plants and trees are labelled. There is so much to see and enjoy, it is well worth the short trip to the country – and if you like, bring a picnic or make a day of it with a visit to nearby Yass itself.
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Canberra City Care Harvest Garden
Canberra City Care 20 Cartwright St, Charnwood, ACT, AustraliaCanberra City Care , a community outreach mission of Life Unlimited Church, established a harvest garden in 2016 managed by volunteers to provide seasonal organic produce for its kitchen and clients experiencing financial difficulties Since 2016, eleven raised garden beds have been constructed through a range of government and community grants.
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The Charnwood Community Garden
The Charnwood Comunity Garden Off Lhotsky St, Charnwood, ACT, AustraliaThe Charnwood Community Garden, established in 1991, is approx. 7500sqm in size. It is leased by Canberra Organic Growers Society Inc from the ACT Government. Currently the garden has over 50 very active gardeners of all ages and backgrounds working over 60 allotment style plots ranging in size between inground plots 25 and 200sqm. Raised garden beds range from 2 sqm to 4.5 sqm. The garden is always on the lookout for keen gardeners to join and embrace organic growing principles, especially the younger generation.
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The Naturalistic Garden
The Naturalistic Garden 33 Hackett Gardens, Turner, ACT, AustraliaThis garden was recently redesigned and landscaped, retaining a large boundary hedge, along with productive olive and fig trees. While professionally designed and landscaped with low stone walls, paths and a pond, the plant mad owner planted out the garden with a wide variety of predominantly herbaceous perennials, many originating from dry parts of Europe and [...]
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The Healing Garden
The Healing Garden 20 Badimara Street, Waramanga, ACT, AustraliaStep into the Healing Garden, a vibrant sanctuary on a sloping block, lovingly created just four years ago. Overflowing with hundreds of locally sourced native plants, it’s a space of resilience, regeneration, and natural restoration. Designed with water-wise principles, it features dry river beds, frog ponds, native habitats, composts, worm farms and 3D-printed bird boxes. Striking [...]
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Tanglewood
Tanglewood 109 McDonnell Drive, Bungendore, NSW, AustraliaTanglewood is a 2-acre rural property which has unfolded over 25 years from a bare grazing paddock, through dense planting of deciduous and native trees, shrubs and groundcovers, to a place of productivity, sanctuary and beauty. The productivity includes an enclosed orchard where chooks and ducks waddle, quack and chirp to their hearts’ content; multiple vegetable [...]
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Hidden Lake
Hidden Lake 95 Morrison Road, Bywong, NSW, AustraliaAs you walk around the side of the house a most unexpected vista awaits, a lake surrounded by trees and shrubs serving as a haven for the many wetland birds that frequent the lake. Over the last 20 years, several thousand trees and shrubs have been planted, transforming it from an overgrazed sheep farm with a [...]
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G and J’s Garden
G and J's Garden 2 Raoul Place, Lyons, ACT, AustraliaSet on a large sloping block with spectacular views, this garden has been developing over the last 25 years. It was initially designed as a formal garden with stone terraces and hedges of box and camellias, but now also homes a variety of native plants in the mix. A paved area at the front of the [...]
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Jinka Falls
Jinka Falls 16 Jinka Street, Hawker, ACT, AustraliaJinka Falls is a newly established garden, demonstrating what can be achieved with thoughtful design and determination in a small space. Created in 2022/23, Jinka Falls features two garden courtyards, connected by a narrow side garden. The first is a biodiversity hotspot with ponds connected by a small brook, surrounded by soft native meadow planting and [...]
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The Traveller’s Garden
The Traveller's Garden 23 Camfield Place, Florey, ACT, AustraliaA compact yet thoughtfully designed garden featuring a blend of exotic and native plants. The abundant planting reflects both cool climate Canberra and the owner’s native Brazil. The outdoor spaces provide inviting areas for relaxation, with carefully arranged seating nooks. Water features and striking sculptures add visual interest. Layered planting, in both containers and garden beds, [...]
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Cockle Street Garden
Cockle Street Garden 46 Cockle Street, O'Connor, ACT, AustraliaSurrounding a house of classic mid-century modernist design, visitors will enjoy wandering on paths through a gently sloping, lawn-free front garden filled with Australian native plants and dominated by a massive old Willow Peppermint (Eucalyptus nicholii). Nearby, two large Allocasuarinas and a large Kashmir Cypress form a backdrop to a pond and shelter the house. The [...]
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Louise and Ian’s Garden
Louise and Ian's Garden 35 Wongoola Close, O'Connor, ACT, AustraliaCome and discover this thoughtfully designed garden nestled in the heights of O’Connor, shown for the first time in Open Gardens. Spread across three levels, Louise and Ian’s garden surrounds their beautifully renovated 1961 home, offering sweeping city views framed by distant mountains. Wander through sculpted hedges, vibrant flowering shrubs, and thoughtfully placed pops of colour [...]
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The Burrow
The Burrow 40 Chubb Street, Latham, ACT, AustraliaThe Burrow has been curated over the last five years by garden and design enthusiasts, Tim and Phoebe. The gardens include meandering levels, ponds and creek, outdoor rooms for gathering and entertaining, secluded pockets to retreat and regenerate, extensive play opportunities for children, a productive garden and integrated fruit trees, all included on a typical suburban [...]
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Woodbury Garden
Woodbury Garden 1048 Old Cooma Rd, Googong, NSWA garden not to be missed. Set in rolling countryside, this beautifully designed and maintained 40 year old garden comprises sweeping beds of interesting and unusual Australian native plants and trees, including Gymea Lily, Angophora, banksias, kangaroo paws, grafted Grevilleas, Lomatias, unusual Hakeas and so much more. You will also find an exotic plant section, extensive rock retaining banks, a dam, ponds with fountains, and an attractive bog garden with a winding wooden walkway and massed with pretty native violet. Productive garden buffs will also enjoy an amazing fully-enclosed orchard full of berries and espaliered fruit trees, a separate large set of raised rabbit-resistant vegetable beds and a sheltered circular garden for cut flowers, roses and citrus. Refreshments and food will be available and there are places to sit and relax if you want to bring your own picnic. There is also a toilet on site.
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Merryway
Merryway 51 Euree St, Reid, ACTLocated at the centre of Reid, this well-established garden is enclosed by a curved camellia ‘Yuletide’ hedge. Behind it is a lawn area with leafy borders featuring a variety of maples. In the back garden a formal area near the house features hedges and clipped balls, along with fruit and flowering trees and a small vegetable garden. Autumn brings scarlet tones to the large vine-coloured pergola while in a secluded corner an enormous old fig tree stands proud. At the rear the garden takes on a wilder aspect with bulbs and groundcovers sheltering beneath birch trees. Over time the garden has been adapted to change with family needs, maturing plants and the climate.
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Tea Gardens
Tea Gardens 10 Yirawala St, Ngunnawal, ACTTea Gardens Homestead, dating back to the 1860s, is one of Canberra’s oldest residential homes, located on a peaceful half acre block, overlooking the 4th hole of Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club. Since 2021 the garden has been completely transformed from a steep sloping block suffering from drought and overgrown with periwinkle, to a beautiful blend of cottage, native, traditional and productive styles. It perfectly complements the homestead’s historic charm. ‘The Vineyard’ was established in July 2024. The front garden development has been ongoing since the property was purchased in 2020. They are highlights of this truly inspiring garden.
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Whitlam Climate-Wise Garden
Whitlam Climate-Wise Garden 3 Klaus Moje St, Whitlam, ACTWith hot summers and cold winters, Canberra’s seasonal conditions affect how plants grow. Gardens also need to be resilient as climate change brings more extreme weather events. Choosing the right plants for Canberra’s climate and soil is key to building a climate-wise garden that will thrive now and into the future. Suburban Land Agency’s (SLA) Innovation Precinct in Whitlam has a thriving climate-wise garden, planted in 2022 and showcasing resilient garden design. The garden has been designed with its natural context in mind- supporting local plants and wildlife while thriving in the local weather conditions across all four seasons. The garden was designed by Place Logic as part of SLA’s Innovation Precinct, a place for demonstrating sustainable homes and gardens to inspire more sustainable living. The plants chosen for the garden were selected from the SLA’s Climate Wise Garden Designs booklet, a key resource for residents in new suburbs and available to visitors on the day for free.
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Cook Community Garden
Cook Community Garden Bindubi St, Cook, ACTThe Cook Community Garden, established in 2001, is situated at the southern end of Bindubi St. The 5000sqm garden is leased by Canberra Organic Growers Society Inc from the ACT Government. Currently the garden has 46 very active gardeners of all ages and backgrounds working 55 allotment style plots ranging in size between 50 and 15sqm. The garden is always on the lookout for keen gardeners to join and embrace organic growing principles, especially the younger generation. There is an off street carpark adjacent to the garden. The nearest toilets are located at Cook shops. Entry is free.
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Teachers’ Rest
Teacher's Rest Palmerston, ACT, AustraliaThe key to this cottage style garden which surrounds the house, is the large number and variety of roses on beds, walls and trellises. The rose displays are complemented with a wide selection of perennial beds, shrubs and small trees such as maples, magnolias, ginghos and crepe myrtles, most of which have been planted in the [...]
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Dhulwa
Dhulwa 5 Boyce Place, Chifley, ACT, AustraliaVisitors’ first experience is a front garden of mature banksias, wattles and other native shrubs, which nicely merge with the neighbouring garden and attract a number of native birds including gang gang and yellow tailed cockatoos and nesting wattle birds. The stonework lined paths takes one on a journey around the house through a series of [...]
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Fairview
Fairview 71 Euree Street, Reid, ACTFairview is a professionally landscaped garden planned by its qualified horticulturalist and landscape architect owner to complement and highlight the 1927 heritage cottage. There are water features and a varied and intriguing range of garden rooms with layers and textures created by the plants, many featuring art installations and sculptures, including Japanese elements. The heritage cottage will also be opened to garden visitors, allowing views to each of the outside garden rooms.
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Narrawong
Narrawong 17 Astelia St, Rivett, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaNarrawong is a mix of formal and cottage garden styles. It has been designed to make the most of a small area, after the existing garden was almost completely removed when the house was renovated and extended twelve years ago. There are repeat plantings of camellias, osmanthas, magnolias, jasmine, rosemary, lavender and a pittostrum hedge. There is a variety of cottage plants including some unusual perennials. Azaleas and rhododendrons provide a splash of colour in Spring. Large mature tree provides a backdrop with Nimmitabel stone walls encircling garden beds and lawns.resist and indulged herself on whimsical impulse. The owner considers the front her “Arboreal Cathedral” which, more or less, came with the house.
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BeaverLea
BeaverLea 19 Astelia St, Rivett, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaThis cottage style garden started in March 2013 with the installation of a three-tiered fountain in front of the outdoor room, and the garden proceeded from there. There are three loosely divided rooms from the entry, a European style area which moves into a large lawn area, surrounded by crepe myrtles and two raised vegetable gardens. Around the side of the house, through an enclosed courtyard one enters the front garden facing the oval. All the plantings come from an eclectic taste of flowers and trees which the owner could not resist and indulged herself on whimsical impulse. The owner considers the front her “Arboreal Cathedral” which, more or less, came with the house.
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Hillside
Hillside 49 Sullivan Cres., Wanniassa, ACTVisitors will enjoy garden beds jam-packed with an enormous range of native and exotic shrubs happily blended together, many of them rare or unusual. The fan-shaped 1,200 sq metre hillside block slopes steeply south and offers expansive views of the Tuggeranong Valley and ranges beyond. The slope lends itself to terracing and interesting use of its varying levels, with meandering pathways, stairs, stone retaining walls and a bubbling pond. The owners have spent over 30 years modifying and extending the original 1980 garden, converting all lawns into plant beds along the way. Their aim is to have something interesting happening year round, although mid-spring is definitely one of the peak times, featuring Correas, Rhododendrons, Cliveas, Emu Bushes, Alyogynes, true Geraniums and an enormous Grass Tree - to name but a few. A feast for any plant lover!
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My Therapy
My Therapy 13 Geerilong Gardens, Reid, ACTThe visitor’s first experience is the street scape of large trees and the broad front bed of native shrubs and groundcovers on a dry creek line on this large corner block. Visitors may inspect an enclosed Japanese style formal garden at the front of the 1930s house which was renovated around 1970. Circling the house, visitors [...]
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Cuumbeun
Cuumbeun 24 Severne St, Greenleigh, Queanbeyan, NSW, AustraliaOver forty years the owners have created a spectacular natural landscaped native garden around the house and maintained the remainder of the two-hectare block as an open dry native eucalypt forest. The plantings are predominantly local species, and many are threatened. A nursery of propagated plants and a worm farm are of special interest. Cleared meandering [...]
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My Place
My Place 44 Brookman Street, Torrens, ACT, AustraliaIn the front garden a varied display of well-maintained spring flowering shrubs frame a broad 180 degree view which includes Isaacs Ridge, Black Mountain and Mt Taylor. Over time the owner has established and shaped the beds and shrubs which include a range of azaleas, a large flowering crab apple, a special rose and other roses [...]
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An Enchanted Garden
An Enchanted Garden 4 Paull Place, Kambah, ACT, AustraliaAdults and children alike will be enchanted by this delightful garden. The owner, a successful potter and mosaicker, as well as a skilled gardener, has created a garden with surprises and beauty at every turn. This no-lawn and waterwise garden, which has evolved over more than twenty years, combines both natives and exotics to pleasing effect. [...]
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Opening hours: | Gardens are open from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday unless otherwise noted in the garden description. |
Member entry: | Garden entry is free for members. |
Visitor entry: | Garden entry is usually $10.00 for visitors 18 years and over, unless otherwise noted in the garden description. |
Memberships: | Join Open Gardens Canberra for only $30 and all gardens are free for the membership year (to end June). |