INTRIGUE in the bright pops of colour behind closed gates has been building but City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson assures the wait will be worth it.
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Begonias are in full bloom and the "hive of activity" in the wider gardens is starting to show rewards, fast capturing the attention of lake-goers who cheekily asked Cr Hudson to sneak them in to see what it was all about.
Ballarat Begonia Festival is back in full colour for its 71st edition this long weekend in what will also be the first showing without restrictions since the eve of pandemic lockdowns.
Cr Hudson encouraged people to be patient and see the burst of bright colour for themselves this weekend when the gates to Ballarat Botanical Gardens re-open.
"The team has done a magnificent job getting the begonias blooming and making sure they're at their magnificent best," Cr Hudson said. "You look at the surrounds in the rest of the gardens and the team has done everything to get ready."
Robert Clark Conservatory is once more billed as the House of One Thousand Begonias while in all likelihood there are plenty more.
City of Ballarat's gardens team has at least 600 tuberous uprights in individual pots, carefully staked and wired, to create walls of flowers. There are also hanging begonias that naturally weep in shape and pretty delicate small flowing begonias in borders.
Some look like roses, others camellias or carnations in whites and creams, pinks and reads and oranges. Of the 240 different kinds of begonias in Ballarat, only three smell, including the pink John Smith with its scent of summer fruits.
Long-serving gardener Peter Marquand can also finally see the begonia curated in his honour for his retirement in October - the beautiful tangerine is finally in bloom.
City of Ballarat has a four-person nursery team working on begonias, which spend 10 months tucked away before coming on show. Interestingly begonias have male and female flowers on the same plants and, now on show, the team has to collect the females each morning that have formed overnight to ensure the bold, flashy male plants - the stars of the show - do not waste energy on female distractions.
Ballarat's internationally-renowned begonia collection dates back to the 1890s.
Cr Hudson said the festival itself had been forced to adapt to modern interests to give people more reason to keep coming back.
This edition features the traditional parade with almost 40 community organisations on show. There will be plenty of modern entertainment, including world-renowned performing company SWAY on 4.5-metre sway poles plus plenty of workshops and demonstrations throughout the gardens.
More than 20 food trucks and 20 market stalls will also line the gardens, selling a range or wares and of course gardening inspiration. And entry to the festival was free.
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Cr Hudson said the city had been getting lots of queries about entry, which he said reflected the cost of living pressures most families were experiencing.
"You can come and relax, it's cost-effective and affordable for families," Cr Hudson said.
City of Ballarat will also be offering people information on its new waste strategy with a chance to offer feedback.
While the City was expecting a boom in visitor numbers for the wider economy, Cr Hudson hoped they all took the chance to see the begonias, for which Ballarat's rare collection was particularly admired in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
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