Michelle Slater
Green thumbs and connoisseurs of fine blooms are set to descend on Morwell for the town’s International Rose Garden Festival later this month.
The two-day fiesta will feature ABC gardening guru Costa Georgiardis, as well as kids favourite dirtgirl, who is performing the Grubby Bucket live show.
Costa will be on hand to answer all gardening questions during a Q and A session.
The rose festival was officially launched last week with Latrobe City councillors, the rose garden committee and event sponsor AGL.
Latrobe City councillor Graeme Middlemiss said this year’s festival would be twice the size of last year’s inaugural event.
“The Morwell rose garden has won a number of international awards, it’s one of the best rose gardens in the world,” Cr Middlemiss said.
“You only have to walk around and look to understand that, and we will have people come from all around to enjoy themselves.”
The Morwell Centenary Rose Garden was chosen as a garden of excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies, and features 400 varieties, carefully cultivated by the Friends of the Garden group.
Bees will be the feature of this year’s festival which takes place during Australian Pollinator Week, and visitors can learn about bees in the ecosystem, beeswax and how to make a bee hotel.
The festival will also feature live bands, local art and sculpture displays, fine food and wine and an evening light installation titled A Midsummer Night’s Lights on day one.
