THE ROTARY Club of Wingham will be holding an Open Gardens on the weekend of October 25 and 26 at Euroka Drive, Taree to raise funds to support their youth and community projects.
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Their last Open Garden event was in 2011, when artists Ron and Helen Hindmarsh opened their property to the public as a fundraiser for the Rotary Club.
This time there will be three properties' gardens to tour, with Ron and Helen being joined by their neighbours at numbers 3 and 4 Euroka Drive.
Each property is on approximately two acres of land, meaning that there is around six acres of gardens to enjoy!
Ron and Helen have put their prodigious artistic talent to work in their garden and it shows. The garden is a delightful haven, with nooks and crannies providing 'garden rooms' that surprise you when you come upon them.
It has been a labour of love for the couple for the last 12 years and it is a never-ending project.
In addition to the manicured lawns, well-established trees and natives, there are beautiful swathes of colour and the orchids that are in bloom right now are a sight to behold.
Of course, the garden is not just devoted to plants - there are sculptures and other non-organic pieces artistically placed within it.
And there are items that will fill visiting children with glee, such as the topiary elephant and wheelbarrow man, the dry stone creek bed and bridge, and the murals around the pool that discourage ducks from using it as their private swimming hole.
The neighbours' gardens are also sure to be similarly enjoyable, with Ron's neighbour's whimsical addition of a rather large 'sailing boat' built off the house that surrounds a fishpond.
Ron has involved the three Wingham primary schools (St Josephs, Wingham Brush Public and Wingham Public) by asking them to each create three or four scarecrows which will be placed around the three properties.
The gardens will be open from 10am to 4.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, and entry is only $5 per person, which will be collected at the entrance to No. 6 Euroka Drive. Each entry ticket is put into a draw for a "lucky gate prize" which will be one of Ron's paintings valued at $250.
Morning and afternoon teas will be available and the Rotary Club of Wingham will also be having a sausage sizzle in Ron's yard. There will also be books and plants for sale and floral displays.
All of the funds raised by the event will go toward the Rotary Club of Wingham's youth and community projects, which include RYAG (an agricultural based program with services focusing on diary, beef, equine and marine industries), science challenges and public speaking courses.
The Rotary club also hopes to use some of the proceeds to help beautify Wingham, with plans to refurbish the arbours in Central Park and to touch up the murals at the entrance to Wingham which are badly in need of repair.
Ron says that at the last Open Garden, they had 500 people visit and raised $4000 for the Rotary club.
He is hoping that, with the addition of two more gardens they will be able to raise even more funds this time around.
For more information, call Ron Hindmarsh on 6551 4362.