It was a beautiful sunny spring morning on Thursday 6thSeptember as the bus left ‘Chambly’ to head to Kynetonand the Daffodil Festival. Hayden, our bus driver, said there wasn’t much to talk about on the way except white lines, so everyone spent this time chatting and munching on sweets!!
On our arrival at Kyneton, we went to the St Paul’s Anglican Church, where we were greeted by our hosts Marj and Bill Tangey. We were treated to a delicious morning tea of scones, jam and cream in the church hall. We were then divided into two groups, one group going to view the Rectory Garden, and the other to the Fine China exhibition.
Our group went first to Wattle Ceramics to see the wonderful display of china daffodils, blue wrens, kookaburras and other native flora and fauna. The detail was truly amazing and many people purchased gifts to take home.
Some of us decided to enjoy the sunny day with a stroll along Piper Street to peruse the lovely gift shops dotted along this historic part of the town. Again many purchases were made!!
Wandering down this street took us back to the Rectory Gardens, which is open to visitors as part of the festival. Originally belonging to the church till 1947, the Rectory is now privately owned and run as a B & B. The garden was created by Paul Bangay in 1997, who kept the history of the area in mind when drawing up the design. At this time of year the garden is a profusion of daffodils, winter roses and flowering fruit trees.
Returning to St Paul’s for a delicious barbeque lunch we were surprised with a stirring rendition of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ by Darryl, the church organist, as we viewed the Festival of Flowers display inside the church. This years theme is, ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’, and the stunning display certainly lived up to its name.
After lunch we were escorted to the very pretty garden at Tylden belonging to Maureen and Glen, aptly named ‘Glenmore’. Violets, irises, bluebells and daffodils bloomed in massed clumps underneath grouped silver birch trees, and spilled down the many hedged paths winding around the property. The owners had created the garden themselves and it certainly was a credit to their many hours of hard work.
No trip to Tylden would be complete without a visit to Springhill nursery. We finished our day with a little time to stroll around the Garden Walk and admire the espaliered fruit trees and rows of gorgeous camellias, and azaleas, all boasting an abundance of flowers. A few further purchases were made from the nursery and giftware shop. Sadly, it was all too soon time to board the bus and to spend the trip home chatting about the great day we had all experienced.
