Daylesford based landscape architect to speak at Begonia Festival Saturday

Natasha Morgan is a former University of Melbourne and RMIT lecturer who "went bush" and carved a five-acre piece of paradise at Spargo Creek.

"It was my first regional Victorian property and I'll be talking on Saturday about the nuts and bolts of setting up a designer garden," she said.

"We'll look at the purposes of each garden space - how to use your inspiration to set up a design.

"My philosophy is to synthesize many different types of gardening - for example, permaculture and ornamental - and look at how you can make the landscape connect to your home.

"And if you live on the edge of a forest, we'll look at how you can use it to frame your view."

Ms Morgan said it was also vital for people to spend quality observational time at their properties before launching into garden designs and tree-planting.

"For example, you need to check where the sun will fall, what the seasons are like, how often you get frost, where the wind mainly comes from, how the landscape connects to your house and you also need to think about how you want to inhabit the landscape," she said.

"A large country property with a few acres may seem aspirational for many people, but it's a huge undertaking.

"Even having an acre of garden to curate is in itself a huge thing - and you need to remember it's not necessarily feasible for everybody."

Ms Morgan sold her Spargo Creek property - named Oak and Monkey Puzzle - in 2022 and is now getting stuck into a new garden of just 515 square-metres in Daylesford.

If you can't get to the Begonia Festival in time, you'll still be able to tap into Natasha's knowledge on Saturday afternoon with a floristry demonstration focussed on seasonal flowers and decorations.

Natasha Morgan will speak at the Ballarat Botanic Gardens from 12.15pm on Saturday and will hold the demonstration from 4.15pm. Both will be on the Begonia Festival's main stage.

She will hold workshops at her new property in Daylesford later in the year.