Arrivals & Departures Kings Park comes into bloom for springtime festival

Spring has just about sprung and Perth's Kings Park is celebrating in its usual spectacular fashion with a colourful display of WA wildflowers for the month-long Kings Park Festival.

The festival runs throughout September, with the theme of Where the Wildflowers Are to draw attention to the park's always-impressive presentation of blooms from across the State. 

All of the wildflowers on display during the festival are native to WA, with the Kings Park nursery having produced more than 25,000 plants for the festival. 

Preparations are a year-round task for the Kings Park team, and about 25 staff and 20 volunteers have been busy planting wildflowers over the past three months to ensure they're ready.

The wildflowers will form a backdrop to a program of mostly free events including ...

• Free guided walks and talks led by the park’s expert staff and volunteer guides, focused on everything from native birdlife and wildflowers to water-wise gardening. Places are limited so reservations are required.
• Artist-in-residence Sally Stoneman will host workshops to create a hand-sewn woven basket using natural materials. Visitors can leave their mark in the WA Botanic Garden by taking part in a community weaving art project.
• There will also be other installations throughout the park, along with a flower-drawing workshop for children led by Beau Est Mien studio and opportunities to meet other artists-in-residence at Aspects of Kings Park.
• The Friends of Kings Park’s popular native plant sale will return on September 16-17, selling acacias, banksias, kangaroo paws, grevilleas and many, many others.
• And there will be a festival florist selling native blooms, foodie experiences including a picnic and a high tea, the Djilba Big Day Out for school children and a chill-out zone with music, lawn games and more.

Fact File

• The Kings Park Festival runs from September 1-30.
• For more details, go to bgpa.wa.gov.au.