The brainchild of keen gardener and Garden Ōtepoti Dunedin festival director Clinton Chambers, the series of events will held under the umbrella of the Taste Nature Social Enterprise.
"Garden Ōtepoti Dunedin or GO Dunedin is about showcasing the region’s botanical diversity, by creating a lively, dynamic garden-themed celebration to get people exploring the city’s public and private gardens," Mr Chambers said.
"The programme focuses on enhancing Dunedin’s reputation as a seasonal gardening destination and a botanical centre of excellence."
Ōtepoti Dunedin’s temperate climate and distinguishable seasons gave it a gardening advantage over other regions, Mr Chambers said.
The GO Dunedin festival would offer a programme of events themed to match each season.
Mr Chambers said the not-for-profit festival had the support of the Dunedin City Council, and Mayor Sophie Barker, also a keen gardener, would be festival ambassador.
Due to the amount of work involved in creating the programme, the inaugural festival in October would focus on celebrating spring and would have the theme of "Bloom".
There would be a series of events and hosted garden tours across the 10-day programme.
The GO Dunedin autumn themed "Harvest" festival will be rolled out in March, 2027, with a focus on resilient communities; followed by the winter-themed "Wintergarden" festival in July, 2028, highlighting renewal and transformation; and the summer-themed "Earth Rhythms" festival in January, 2029, focusing on conservation and wellness.
Ms Chambers said the online festival hub would also be expanded over time to provide a place for local garden clubs and organisations to list their meetings, activities and events such as plant sales.
"We want to help make it easy for people to find the local garden-related and food resilience information they need," he said.
Mr Chambers said October’s inaugural GO Dunedin festival Bloom programme would be run in conjunction with Dunedin "gardens of significance", including the Dunedin Botanic Garden and Larnach Castle garden, along with many beautiful local gardens.
The programme will include a botanical art exhibition, a Bloom Garden Party, the popular annual Rhododendron Day plant sale, guided tours of public and private gardens, talks, workshops, the annual Dunedin Open Gardens weekend and a free Labour Day family picnic and entertainment event at Dunedin Botanic Garden.
Right now, Dunedin gardens are needed for the Dunedin Open Garden Tour weekend, running over Labour Weekend, October 24-25.
"We are calling out to passionate gardeners who want to showcase their garden to New Zealanders and locals alike," Mr Chambers said.
A team of garden curators will assess gardens of interest and Go-Dunedin will provide support, organise the tours and sort out ticketing and programming.
"All the gardeners need to do is to get their gardens ready and blooming," he said.
The Dunedin Opens Gardens programme will be a self-book garden tour where visitors build their own route through Dunedin’s finest private and public gardens, according to their budget.
"And the more private gardens we have on display the more variety of plantings and blooms visitors get to see.
"If you’ve got a garden you’re proud of, we’d love to talk to you."
For more information, visit the festival website www.go-dunedin.nz or the Garden Ōtepoti Dunedin facebook page.
Tickets for GO Dunedin "Bloom" spring festival will be on sale from August 1.
