New England Garden Festival & Garden Trail 2026

New England Garden Festival 2026

Celebrate spring in the New England at the 2026 New England Garden Festival, held at Armidale Racecourse on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026. This much-loved volunteer-run festival brings together magnificent gardens, regional creativity, local producers, specialist stallholders, live entertainment, food, workshops and family-friendly activities in one welcoming community celebration.

This year’s festival will feature special guests Hannah Moloney and Jerry Coleby-Williams from ABC TV’s Gardening Australia. Festival visitors will have the opportunity to hear from these highly regarded gardening experts through presentations, workshops and demonstrations focused on practical gardening, sustainability, cool-climate growing and resilient gardens.

All proceeds raised by the New England Garden Festival are returned to the local community through a grant round supporting not-for-profit community groups across the region. (see negf.com.au for details)

About the Festival

The New England Garden Festival showcases the vibrant towns, magnificent gardens, surrounding landscapes and welcoming people of the New England region. The festival town of Armidale and participating towns including Guyra, Glen Innes and Tenterfield each offer their own heritage streetscapes, seasonal beauty, creative culture, tourism experiences, arts attractions and access to beautiful countryside and national parks.

Across the two-day festival, visitors can enjoy garden stalls, plants, books, garden tools, food, workshops, demonstrations, raffles, a silent art auction, entertainment and products from small business stallholders and community groups from across the region.

Festival Highlights

·         Special guest appearances by Hannah Moloney and Jerry Coleby-Williams from ABC TV’s Gardening Australia

·         Workshops and demonstrations, with online registration required for workshop sessions

·         Garden stalls, plants, books, tools, art, food and locally made products

·         Live music, roving entertainment and family-friendly activities

·         Open garden experiences across the New England region

·         Community fundraising, with proceeds distributed through local not-for-profit grants

Tickets and Booking Information

Tickets will be available online via Humanitix and in person at the event. Workshop places are limited and must be booked online in advance. A separate booking is required for each workshop session and confirmation emails or tickets must be presented for workshop entry.

·         Festival Admission — Adult Day Pass: $10 per day

·         Festival Admission — Pensioner, Student or Disability Concession Card Holder Day Pass: $5 per day

·         Youth aged 0–16: Free

·         Raffle tickets: $5 each (prize details available at negf.com.au)

·         Garden Trail - Adult: $10 per garden

·         Garden Trail Concession: $5 per garden

·         Garden Trail Bulk Pass per town: 20% discount applies if viewing all gardens in a single town:

Note - the bulk discount allow one entry to each of the open gardens in the relevant town.

When buying tickets and signing in to an Open Garden, you acknowlege and accept personal responsibilities for the various risks incurred in visiting a private garden.

Concession card holders must show a relevant and valid concession card at the entry gate.

Armidale Festival Gate Entry

Saturday: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Garden Trail

Tenterfield - Wednesday 28 October from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Glen Innes - Thursday 29 October from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Guyra - Friday 30 October from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Armidale - Saturday 31 October from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Armidale - Sunday 1 November from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Festival Workshops

Workshop tickets available online or at the Festival gate.

Please view the Festival program for the multiple free workshops and events

Workshop 1: Garden Design (Saturday 10:00 am - 10:45 am) - Jane Gilpin

Workshop 2: Propagating Natives (Saturday 11;00 am - 11:30 am) - Armidale Tree Group

Workshop 3: Hannah Moloney (Saturday 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm)

Workshop 4: UNE Discovery Science Lab (Saturday 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm)

Workshop 5: TBC

Workshop 6: Wreath Making (Saturday 1:45 pm - 2:30 pm)

Workshop 7: Fermenting Vegetables (Saturday 2:15 pm - 3;00 pm) - Gal Winters

Workshop 8: Growing Peonies (Saturday 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm) - Barry Phillips

Workshop 9: Hannah Moloney & Jerry Coleby-Williams Q&A (no cost)

Workshop 10: Grafting Natives (Sunday 10:30 am - 11:30 am) - Maria Hitchcock & Keith Finlayson

Workshop 11: Jerry Coleby-Williams (Sunday 11:30 - 12:30)

Raffles

Raffles will be drawn at the Festival at 12:30 pm on Sunday. Prize winners will be contacted to come and collect their prizes from the Festival Office.