Tucked into the Hartley Valley below Mount York, four remarkable acreage gardens open their gates twice a year for the Hartley Valley Garden Festival. Highfields, Hartvale, Wild Meadows and Gory’u Japanese Gardens draw garden lovers from across New South Wales for a weekend of colour, rare plants, artisan stalls and spectacular escarpment views. Under two hours from Sydney, it is a perfect group day tour, and a comfortable coach makes the journey part of the pleasure. Here is how to plan yours.
Hartley Valley Garden Festival: Group Bus Tours
Four Spectacular Acreage Gardens in Little Hartley, Under Two Hours From Sydney, Twice Every Year
Beyond the western edge of the Blue Mountains, where the highway drops down toward Lithgow, lies a quiet pocket of country known to gardeners across the state as the garden valley. Twice a year, in spring and again in autumn, four remarkable acreage gardens in Little Hartley open their gates together for the Hartley Valley Garden Festival, and for one weekend the valley becomes one of the most rewarding day trips in New South Wales.
For a garden club, a Probus group or a community outing, it is a near-perfect day out, and one far better shared on a comfortable coach than tackled in a convoy of cars on winding mountain roads. Sydney Charter Bus Australia runs group tours to the Hartley Valley and across regional NSW, so your group can relax and leave the driving and the mountain descents to us. Request a quote for your garden tour.
🌼 Spring & Autumn Each Year | Four Acreage Gardens | Under Two Hours From Sydney
About the Festival
The Hartley Valley Garden Festival and Plant Fair brings together privately owned acreage gardens in Little Hartley, in the City of Lithgow, on the far side of the Blue Mountains. Each of the four gardens has featured on programmes such as Gardening Australia and Better Homes and Gardens, and each has its own distinct character, from riotous cottage colour to a serene traditional Japanese landscape.
The festival runs twice a year. Spring brings the third weekend of October and an explosion of perennials and cottage favourites in full bloom. Autumn brings the second weekend of March, when the maples and cool-climate trees turn and the light softens across the valley. This coming spring, the festival takes place on the weekend of the 24th and 25th of October.
| Where | Little Hartley, in the Hartley Valley, City of Lithgow, west of the Blue Mountains |
| When | Twice a year: spring (third weekend of October) and autumn (second weekend of March). This spring: 24 and 25 October |
| The gardens | Highfields, Hartvale, Wild Meadows and Gory’u Japanese Gardens |
| Distance from Sydney | Under two hours by coach, and about 15 minutes from Blackheath or Lithgow |
| On the day | Plant stalls, garden-related artisan stalls, guest speakers, complimentary tea and coffee, and morning and afternoon teas for sale |
Entry is set by the festival at a small fee per person, per garden, with children under 16 free (details and any changes are confirmed by the organisers). Dates, times and details are set by the festival organisers, so please confirm them before finalising your trip.
The Four Gardens
What makes the festival special is how different the four gardens are from one another. In a single day, a group moves from a paint-box cottage garden to a naturalistic meadow, from a horticulturist’s terraced masterpiece to an authentic Japanese stroll garden. Here is what awaits.
| Garden | What Makes It Special |
|---|---|
| Hartvale | Set on gently undulating acres at the base of Mount York, Hartvale is so colourful it has been described as a paint-box garden. Lavender, poppies, salvias, aquilegias and roses fill the beds, alongside a potager and kitchen garden, a walled garden with a water feature and an open art studio, all framed by sweeping escarpment and valley views. |
| Highfields | The ambitious terraced garden of horticulturist and rare-plant collector David Kennedy of Clover Hill Rare Plants. Sited for full sun and magnificent views, it features a dry garden, a prairie garden, a birch grove, rare conifers, a rock and water garden and dense, complex borders, earning international acclaim in a remarkably short time. |
| Wild Meadows | The naturalistic garden of designer and plantsman Steven Vella, where sweeping borders blend irises, roses, lupins and foxgloves, and a woodland garden brings cooler tones beneath mature maples. A vegetable patch, orchard and beehives add to a garden that offers drama in every season and a particular glow in autumn. |
| Gory’u Japanese Gardens | A traditional Japanese stroll garden created over decades by Alan Jackson, spread across several acres with maples, conifers, a flowing stream, ornamental bridges, stone lanterns and a lake, with views toward Mount York. Famous for its cold-climate trees and Japanese maples, it offers calm and contemplation quite unlike the other three. |
The line-up of gardens can vary between festivals, so the participating gardens are confirmed by the organisers for each event.
Why It Is a Perfect Group Bus Tour
A garden festival spread across four separate acreage properties is exactly the kind of outing a coach makes better. The gardens sit on rural roads a short distance apart, and moving a group between them by private vehicle means a scatter of cars, a hunt for parking on narrow country lanes, and someone always missing the turn. On a coach, your group travels together, arrives together, and stays together across the day.
| Leave the mountain driving to us | The route crosses the Blue Mountains and descends the western escarpment. Let a professional driver handle it while your group enjoys the views. |
| Everyone together, all day | No convoy, no one lost between gardens, no parking scramble on rural lanes. One vehicle, one group, one shared day. |
| Comfort between gardens | Air-conditioned, seatbelted comfort for the short hops between properties, a welcome rest for the legs between all that strolling. |
| Room for your purchases | With rare plants and treasures for sale at every garden, a coach gives everyone somewhere to stow their finds for the trip home. |
Perfect for Garden Clubs, 📅 Probus Groups and Community Outings
The Hartley Valley Garden Festival is tailor-made for organised groups. Garden clubs, horticultural societies, Probus and seniors groups, retirement village outings and community groups find it one of the most rewarding day trips of the year. The garden owners are usually on hand to share advice, there are guest speakers and plant experts to learn from, and the relaxed pace suits a group beautifully. Because the gardens welcome bus groups, a coach tour fits the festival perfectly.
If your group prefers a quieter visit, two of the gardens, Hartvale and Highfields, also welcome weekday bus groups outside the festival, with Hartvale able to arrange a morning or afternoon tea and Highfields providing a lovely lunch. It makes for a gentler, more exclusive garden day, and can be combined with other attractions in the region.
Make a Day of It in the Region
The Hartley Valley sits in one of the most scenic corners of New South Wales, so a garden tour pairs naturally with the wider region. The historic village of Hartley, with its convict-era sandstone buildings, is close by. The grand gardens of Mayfield, near Oberon, are around 45 minutes away and make a natural companion for a longer garden itinerary. And the tour crosses the Blue Mountains, so a lookout stop at Blackheath or Mount Victoria on the way through is easily added. See our Day Tours & Sightseeing and Coach & Bus Tours.
Book Well Ahead
Garden tours are popular, and the festival weekends in particular book out early, so the sooner you plan, the better. As garden groups know, the best trips are organised well in advance, which suits us perfectly, since we plan our tours ahead too. Whether you are looking at the spring festival in October, the autumn festival in March, or a weekday visit to Hartvale and Highfields, let us know your dates and group size and we will help you put together a smooth, memorable day. Bookings for the gardens themselves are arranged directly with the organisers, and we take care of getting your group there and home in comfort.
The Right Coach for Your Garden Group
| Group Size | Vehicle | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 12 to 24 | Minibus, Coaster or Rosa | Smaller garden clubs and friendship groups. |
| 34 | Midi-Coach | Mid-size clubs and Probus groups. |
| 39 to 57 | Full-Size Coach | Large garden societies and combined outings. |
| Up to 62 | HI-CAP Coach | The largest groups travelling together. |
All coaches are air-conditioned and seatbelted. Add a professional tour guide or arrange coach hire with driver to suit your group. See our full fleet.
Festival Contact
For festival details, garden addresses, speaker times and to arrange your group’s visit to the gardens themselves, the festival organiser is Jennifer Edwards of Hartvale Cottage and Gardens, on 0404 531 555, or visit the festival and garden websites and their Instagram pages for Hartvale, Highfields, Wild Meadows and Gory’u Japanese Gardens. For your group’s transport to and from the valley, that is where we come in.
Hartvale Gardens feature on Gardening Australia
Plan Your Garden Festival Tour
Tell us your group size and preferred festival weekend, spring or autumn, and we will help you plan a beautiful day in the Hartley Valley.
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