Paul Bangay's Stonefields Open Garden Weekend 2016 - it's a wrap!

A record crowd of almost 7500 people streamed through the gates of Paul Bangay’s Stonefields on 16 & 17 April at our big Open Garden Weekend fundraiser.

It was the fourth time Paul has opened his garden to raise funds for the Foundation, but the first time visitors have had the chance to see the garden in all its autumnal glory.

And what a glorious weekend it was! We were blessed with fine weather and the garden was bathed in lovely autumn sunshine all weekend, highlighting its striking collage of colours.

The clear blue sky provided the perfect backdrop for the brilliant reds of the maple trees, the greens of the parterre and hedges, and the stunning flowers in the rose garden and borders.

Scroll through the photo gallery above to see all the colour and excitement from the weekend.

An army of red t-shirt clad Foundation staff and volunteers buzzed around the site, helping visitors make the most of their time in the gorgeous garden.

Visitors who had booked a private tour with Paul were able to explore the garden in small groups, and to hear first-hand the inspiration and design process behind the garden.

Paul was then kept busy for the rest of the weekend signing books and meeting fans, alongside our Founder Stephanie Alexander, in the book sales marquee.

Visitors snapped up a range of Paul and Stephanie’s books and left with happy smiles after having the opportunity to meet the authors and have their books personally signed.

Stalls and displays by four Kitchen Garden Program Schools (Taradale, Winters Flat, Tylden and Daylesford Primary Schools) showcased the amazing things students learn to grow and cook in the Program. The stalls proved very popular and did a brisk trade selling a variety of items including; preserves, plants, bulbs, posies, fruit, vegetables, cookbooks, tea towels, baked goods, coffee, local apples and honey.

The lawn overlooking the garden was bordered by a range of food and drink options, with visitors relaxing on Wheat Belt hay bale covers, listening to music by Dr Grant Blashki and enjoying food by Annie Smithers, Plains Paddock Lamb, Icecream Social, Calendar Cheese, wine by De Bortoli and drinks by the Daylesford and Hepburn Mineral Springs Co. and local coffee providers.

The raffle tent also proved a popular stop for visitors and more than 2500 tickets were sold over the weekend, with a second business card raffle in the Kitchen Garden Foundation marquee also drawing many entries.

Visitors inspired by Paul’s garden had the chance to buy some of the same types of plants used at Stonefields at stalls held by Smith & Gordon, Drewitt’s Bulbs and The Diggers Club.

A big thank you to Paul for generously opening his garden to raise funds for the Foundation and to the Stonefields gardeners, especially head gardener Tim, for the countless hours they spent ensuring the garden looked its best.

The event could not have been such a success without the help of the small army of volunteers who supported Foundation staff, so a big thank you goes out to them as well.

Thanks to everyone who visited Stonefields over the weekend and helped raise much-needed funds that will allow the Foundation to continue working towards its goal of making pleasurable food education available to every Australian child.