2026 Sustainable Gardens Display Application

The Ballarat Begonia Festival is a much-loved community event held every Labour Day long weekend in March. Set in the beautiful Ballarat Botanical Gardens, it draws tens of thousands of visitors over three vibrant days.

Overview

The Sustainable Gardens Display invites expressions of interest from both established and emerging local landscape designers and architects to create imaginative garden displays for the 2026 Begonia Festival.

This exciting opportunity provides a platform to showcase creativity, innovation, and style, while offering your business exposure to an audience of 40,000-60,000 visitors.

Theme

In 2026, the Sustainable Gardens Display will celebrate the theme Circular Gardens, inspired by the principles of reuse, regeneration, and sustainable design. Participants are invited to reinvent how plants, materials, and resources can be given new purpose, creating striking yet functional garden spaces.

This theme challenges designers to minimise waste, prioritise recycled or repurposed materials, and embrace closed loop thinking. Circular Gardens demonstrate that beauty doesn’t come from excess, but from thoughtful design where every element has value and a second life. It’s an opportunity to showcase creativity, environmental responsibility, and practical ingenuity – while inspiring the audience to see the potential in their own outdoor spaces through a more sustainable lens.

The Brief

The City of Ballarat invites local landscaping companies and trainees to apply for an opportunity to design and construct a sustainable garden display at the 2026 Begonia Festival. This initiative provides a platform to showcase your innovative ideas, environmentally conscious practices, and sustainable
landscaping solutions to over 40,000 attendees during the three-day festival.

To expand on our options from 2025, we are pleased to offer two display sizes to choose from.

2.5m x 2.5m (limited sites available)
DISPLAY SPECIFICATIONS

Space: 2.5m x 2.5m
Budget: A stipend* of $1,500 will be provided to assist with
material costs.
Successful applicants will be required to complete a Ballarat Botanical
Gardens bio-security form. Click here to view bio-security guidelines.
You will need to build a ‘box / border’ to surround the perimeter of
your site, concealing your pots and any substructure; this will need
to be included in your budget. The site locations are on a flat surface,
however, given they are in the gardens, some levelling maybe required.
Note: Exclusionary barriers and signage will be provided (details to
be advised).

5m x 5m (limited sites available)
DISPLAY SPECIFICATIONS

Space: 5m x 5m
Budget: A stipend* of $2,500 will be provided to assist with
material costs.
Successful applicants will be required to complete a Ballarat Botanical
Gardens bio-security form. Click here to view bio-security guidelines.
You will need to build a ‘box / border’ to surround the perimeter of
your site, concealing your pots and any substructure; this will need
to be included in your budget. The site locations are on a flat surface,
however, given they are in the gardens, some levelling maybe required.
Note: Exclusionary barriers and signage will be provided (details to
be advised).

*STIPEND PAYMENT
Payment of stipend will be divided into two milestones:

Assignment of successful submission – $1,300 (2.5m x 2.5m) or $2,000 (5m x 5m)
After successful event delivery $200 (2.5m x 2.5m) / $500 (5m x 5m)

CITY OF BALLARAT WILL PROVIDE

Stipend of $1,500 (2.5m x 2.5m) or $2,500 (5m x 5m) depending on garden size to go towards cost of materials.
All festival marketing opportunities relevant to garden displays – including signage to accompany the display and recorded interviews with Begonia Festival Host for promotional purposes post event.

OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Ballarat Begonia Festival takes place in the heritage-listed Ballarat Botanical Gardens. The Sustainable Gardens Displays are constructed in the grounds of the Gardens. It is vital that the construction of each garden does not impact on the grounds.

You will need to build a ‘box / border’ to surround the perimeter of your site, concealing your pots and any substructure; this will need to be included in your budget. The site locations are on a flat surface, however, given they are in the gardens, some levelling maybe required.
Note: Exclusionary barriers and signage will be provided (details to be advised).
3 days total available for bump in. In the first 2 days vehicle access to the display location will be available for drops offs only. 2 days allocated for bump out.
Access to Plant Equipment not available.
Important:
Garden displays cannot have any construction that penetrates the soil.
You are responsible for restoring the allocated site to its original condition at the conclusion of the festival.