Join the Friends for an informal evening at their AGM. The Annual Report and election of the Committee will be followed by supper and Special Guest speaker Ali Wastie, City of Greater Geelong CEO.  RSVPs by 22 August.  Free members event. AGM at 5.30, Guest Speaker at 6.15 pm and Supper at 7.00 pm.  Event Close at 8.00 pm.

THE ENIGMA OF FOSTER FYANS. Foster Fyans was a member of the original 1855 Committee of Management of the Geelong Botanic Gardens and a Trustee of the Gardens from 1860 to 1865. Fyans had a full and adventurous life – the Peninsular War in Spain, a long period as a military officer in India, Captain of the Guard at Norfolk Island, Commandant at Morton Bay and the founder of the settlement at Geelong. Fyans’ subsequent career as a magistrate and Commissioner of Crown Lands shines a light on the early European settlement of western Victoria, the cultural clashes with Aboriginal people and his changing response to their dispossession. Dr John Cary is a former academic at the University of Melbourne, where he is an Honorary Principal Fellow in the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences. His family has a long association with Geelong. Copies of his recent book Frontier Magistrate: The Enigmatic Foster Fyans, Australian Scholarly Publishing ($49), will be available for sale for $30. The book won the Judges’ Special Prize in the 2023 Victorian Community History Awards. Join the Friends for supper followed by our Guest Speaker, author John Cary, John will be speaking on ‘Foster Fyans’, a notable figure in Geelong’s early history, including being the first Chief Magistrate and on the first Committee of Management of Geelong Botanic Gardens.   The large meeting room is located at the rear of the Gardens and you can enter the rear carpark from the corner of Eastern Park Circuit and Holt Road, East Geelong.  Location Map Here  Walk to the top of the carpark and the large meeting room is in the second green portable building. $20 members $30 non members

Join the Friends for this enjoyable evening to watch ‘Saving Grace’ with Brenda Blethen, a light hearted adventure set in Cornwell, with an interesting horticultural twist. Supper followed by the movie in the Hinchcliff Room at the Hub in East Geelong. At the Hub, 285 McKillop St, East Geelong. $35 members and $45 non-members Bookings Essential and close on 4 July      

Winter Lunch @ Davidsons Guest Speakers Amanda Blake Sutterby (artist and tutor) and Adam Blake (Trust for Nature Regional Manager in the Wimmera) Join the Friends and guest speakers Amanda Blake Sutterby and Adam Blake for lunch at our premier fundraising event at the Davidsons TAFE restaurant. They will speak about 'Capturing Rare and Threatened Plants Through Botanical Art'.  An impressive raffle is always a feature of this event.    Please Advise of any dietary requirements when booking your ticket. *The photo shown here is of a previous winter luncheon.  

Join Gwen at her beautiful home for a fabulous Winter Soups demonstration, followed by a delicious gourmet lunch.  20 people maximum.  Printed recipes included.                      $35 members and $45 non-members The address will be sent to you before the event.

Come and join the Friends for a fascinating talk by FGBG member and journalist Gail Thomas, as she pays tribute to Geelong’s Pioneering Vignerons, many of them also being early orchardists.  ‘These two pioneering Swiss immigrants not only founded Geelong’s first vineyard and cemented our region’s reputation for producing quality and highly acclaimed wines in the mid 1800’s, they also brought with them horticultural knowledge, established orchards and nurseries, supplied fruit to the goldfields and were involved in the Geelong community in many ways.’ $20 members $30 non-members, includes supper.  Bookings by 12 April.  

Join the Friends to experience the Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden at Bulla, a tour of stunning Villa Verde Garden at Greendale and beautiful Poyntons Nursery at Aberfeldie. Entries, morning and afternoon included.  Purchase own lunch at Poyntons Nursery café, and afternoon tea at Newport lakes Park.  Bookings by 13 March. $85 members and $95 non-members. 

Celebrate positive aging with a Guided walk and Morning tea in the Geelong Botanic Gardens. RSVP essential: Please call the office to book or for more information, limit of 50 people. FULLY BOOKED

Celebrate positive aging with a Guided walk and Morning tea in the Geelong Botanic Gardens. RSVP essential: Please call the office to book or for more information, limit of 50 people. NOW FULLY BOOKED.

Join the Friends at our annual Christmas BYO Picnic at the Visitor Facility in the Gardens. Bring family and friends, to begin the Christmas spirit in a relaxed and informal gathering. Featuring a huge Christmas raffle, tea and coffee will be provided.  BYO alcohol permitted. 6.30 – 7.30 Make your own group or join a group on the night, to enjoy a fun quiz with a horticultural theme. Lots of fun and a prize to win!!  

Bring friends and car-pool, to make your own way to the Queenscliff ferry, then travel as a group to Sorento. We will then travel by bus to historic Beleura house and garden, split into 2 groups of 20 and have guided tours of both the house and garden. Morning tea and lunch are included. BYO /purchase afternoon tea on the return ferry.         Beleura was built on the Mornington Peninsula in 1863 by Scottish immigrant and successful merchant James Butchart. Today Beleura and its splendid grounds, interiors and archival material reflect the life and legacy of the Tallis family. Composer John Tallis lived here for 48 years and bequeathed Beleura to the people of Victoria. It’s original gardens are maintained by an active Friends group and they lead the guided tours. Ticket includes ferry fares, silver service morning tea and lunch, as well as 2 guided tours

Passing right through the middle of Geelong, there is a path lined by trees and other plants. Come for a guided walk along this path, to see mature trees and recently-planted garden beds. Explore why a garden is sunken, visit pines from Gallipoli, see plants in full spring bloom and look at imaginative use of diverse, and some unusual, plants in the middle of the shopping area. We will walk three blocks from Fenwick Street to Yarra Street. Meet your guide at the rotunda in Johnstone Park. Gold coin donation is appreciated. Meet your Guide at the rotunda in Johnstone Park.