heronswood

We often go to Diggers as a family. The gardens are amazing in giving inspiration. We usually return with interesting rare plants, heirloom veggie seeds and great advice.The staff are helpful and passionate about what they do.The view from the garden is spectacular.Saving heirloom plant varieties for the future and standing up to the multi national Ag Corps needs to be supported. Go and visit.

Love this place so peaceful and quiet wandering through the gardens great value for money and can always find heirloom seeds

We visited recenty & dined at the cafe - knowing that all the fruit & veg are sourced directy from the gardens was pleasing to hear! The food was delicious & we enjoyed new taste sensations such as heirloom varieties of tomatoes & radishes! Thoroughly enjoyed walking through the gardens - certainly gave us ideas how & what to plant!They have a shop where you can buy heirloom varieties of seeds & various plants also (which are well priced if you are on a tight budget!)Looking forward to visiting again to see how the different seasons affect the plants & all the colours!!

Walked thru the amazing gardens and had beautiful scones, jam and cream for afternoon tea.The thatched roof building was amazing and the outdoor seating was very relaxing

Thanks WhiteChinaCat for a great review and we're glad you enjoyed your time at Heronswood. Our staff are all passionate gardeners and love sharing their knowledge with others.

There is certainly a lot to see at Heronswood and thanks for the nice review. It's a haven to escape to on a hot day!

Dear Sarih893,Thanks for your review, we have taken on a few points which have been constructive. Most of our visitors enter via the front gate, which means they get to the shop for the day pass before entering the historic house, it seems a few problems have stemmed from you not entering this way, in which case the staff at the desk and the sign at the front gate would have clarified our opening times for youWe do have mineral water in bottles for sale at $9 each, but we also have free water on a stand in the hallway with water bottles and glasses on it for patrons and we offer organic apple and orange juice, soft drinks, mineral water, iced chocolate and hot chocolate which are all suitable for children.I’m glad you enjoyed the gardens.

Heronswood offers every visitor the chance to experience a property, that normally would be private and only available to the very wealthy folk who own it. The gardens are wonderful, constantly evolving as true gardens do, plenty of inspiration for gardeners or just the joy of such a beautiful setting for nature lovers in general. The staff are always delightful and warm and the cafe, which is now in the historic house, a great place for coffee and scones or one of the lovely seasonal lunches they do. You can observe the gardens from the cafe to save money. Personally, membership to Diggers is the way to go, great magazines, savings and you can visit the other gardens for free.

Heronswood is an excellent garden. You can tell that a lot of love went into caring for the garden. It was such an unexpected gem!

So glad you enjoyed your visit to Heronswood the other day Kaye. Thanks for such lovely feedback and we hope to see you again soon.

Dear Ann,Thanks for your comments on the new structures put in place for the restaurant in historic Heronswood House and we are sorry that your visit was disappointing. The changes to the entry to the restaurant are only recent and it will take some time for the transition to settle in.Clive and Penny decided to open up what was their family home as a restaurant earlier this year they considered it to be a great asset for Diggers members. Our members play an important role in supporting The Diggers Garden and Environment Trust which has been gifted the Heronswood property to preserve for future generations. The exclusivity of free entry for members to the restaurant is a way of offering members something in return. The restaurant entry for non-members also includes a day pass to Heronswood gardens- a very unique visitor experience. We recognise that not all visitors will want to pay for the day pass and as such we have developed a casual outdoor seating area. Our gardeners have been working hard to rejuvenate the gardens around the outdoor take away seating as and the plants grow it will become for aesthetically pleasing. I hope this insight has helped to clarify the reasons behind this change.

After being a Diggers Club member for a number of years, it was lovely to see the Heronswood Gardens in action. Worthwhile for the gardening enthusiast. The Devonshire tea was also very tasty.

Spectacular views of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne City in the distance. Gothic Revival building classified by the National Trust, houses the cafe/restaurant(advise booking) Inspirational gardens for the home gardener, including vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs,drought tolerant plants, children's garden etc. Best appreciated on a clear sunny day when the sea and the garden are a joy to behold! Suitable for all ages, parking available. Put it on your 'must visit' list!

If you are on the peninsula its worth a look. Probably bot worth driving from Melbourne for. Perhaps give the cafe a miss too. We found the morning menu limited to 3 or 4 cakes. We had the scones and they were ok but nothing special. View on the terrace was lovely though.

Recently took a tour of Heronswood inside & out. The garden l guess was wearing its Winter coat, it looked good but a bit scruffy moving into Spring, l feel the entry price is a little steep especially as there is no concession for seniors etc. We didn't eat at the cafe, but the bay views from the inside of the home are amazing. For me the main draws of this attraction are the very interesting architecture of the exterior of the home & the views, gardens & shop are good but not great.