Think spring – think Leura !
LEURA GARDENS FESTIVAL 2022
After two years of cancelling we are delighted that the Leura Gardens Festival will be returning in 2022 . The 56th festival will be held for four days over the October long weekend from Saturday 1 - Tuesday 4 .
We plan to make this year ’ s festival a wonderful celebration for all garden lovers and look forward to welcoming everyone back to the upper Blue Mountains . On display will be a feast of new growth , masses of flowers , gorgeous bulbs and an amazing variety of cool-climate plants including azaleas , rhododendrons and peonies . There will also be magnificent deciduous trees which will just be coming into their full flowering glory . There will be two magnificent gardens new to the festival , Avila and Karoola . Avila is a wonderful example of what can be achieved in smaller spaces using a careful and informed plant selection , and it will be dressed in some impressive flowering bulb displays .
Karoola is a garden on a larger scale and includes both formal and rambling bush settings and is remarkable for its extensive wisteria plantings . Several favourites will return , including Ewanrigg , Fairways , Seasons and The Braes , which puts on an impressive show across its vast , varied and everchanging acreage .
In addition , the beautiful gardens
The Braes .
at Everglades and Fairmont Resort will also be on display . All tickets are valid for the four days of the festival and are available on the festival website .
The festival ‘ hop on , hop off ’ bus service runs between all gardens approximately every 30 minutes , an all-day ticket is $ 10 . The first bus leaves Leura Station at 9.30am each day and the last bus departs the station at 4.30pm for the final circuit .
There will also be music ; the Heathens Choir of Blackheath , the Katoomba Jazz Band and the Wombats Crossing trio will all be performing during the festival .
All proceeds go to support the Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital and other local health-related organisations .
Festival details are available at www . leuragardensfestival . com . au or call 0431 095 279 . You can also follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram .
FINANCE
Help yourself to improve your financial situation
by Angela Dye , Home Loan Expert at Richmond Residential Pty Ltd
It ’ s easy to get overwhelmed by the constant increasing costs of day to day living . In the current environment , every time we read a newspaper or hear the news there are further increases to interest rate , food and petrol etc . It seems like our pocket is constantly being drained .
So , how do we start to help ourselves ?
Firstly , we need to understand where our money goes and the easiest way to do this is to have a budget . Having a budget helps us to be accountable for our spending and makes it easier to identify areas of spending that we can cut back on . In today ’ s world of easy credit , you can quickly find yourself in a position where you are spending more than you earn . Start by writing down everything you spend , don ’ t forget to include things like coffee and the newspaper that you buy on your way to work . To properly understand your spending you need to capture everything .
Another area you can look at is your level of debt and what type of debt you currently have . Most families today have a mortgage . Believe it or not the mortgage payment is usually not the issue . The issue is in the level of unsecured debts that we have . These include credit cards , personal loans , leases and products that are buy now pay later . With these types of debts , you can soon find yourself robbing Peter to pay Paul , that means , whoever yells the loudest gets a payment first .
Understanding your budget and taking control of your finances will help to relieve the stress of the day to day changes in your finances . You could also consider consolidating your debts . By using the equity in your home to pay off credit cards and other debts that you have taken on over time you can reduce your monthly commitments and improve your cash flow . You don ’ t have to wait until things are at their worst to ask for help .
There are also different ways that you can pay debt . To understand this further talk to professionals who will be able to suggest ways that could improve your situation . This may include your accountant , your bank or a mortgage broker .
Help yourself to sleep better at night .
Call Angela on 0414 608 970 to discuss your situation or visit www . richmondresidential . com . au .
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 148 // SEPTEMBER 2022 13