Flower Power

Well I've been known to travel far and wide for a good feed and this weekend led me to Silvan in the Yarra Ranges. I visited the Tesselaar Tulip Festival, on their Food, Wine & Jazz weekend and enjoyed complimentary wine tasting, taste testing some local produce from the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges and a muddy walk through the colourful rows of tulips in the ever unpredictable Victorian weather of rain, then sunshine, then rain, then wait for it... sunshine again!

There were gorgeous floral displays of tulips all around, unique pieces of artwork and jazz tunes playing providing fun for all ages. With children chiming bells through the gardens, wine lovers making the most of their complimentary wine tasting and food lovers (like myself) tasting all the delicious treats.

We started our journey with a walk around the festival admiring the vibrant tulip farm in awe of the spring colours, giggling at all the muddy shoes around and taking in the fresh open air. After our walk through the beautiful floral farm, it was time to taste the delicious foods on offer - including the use of our complimentary wine tasting tokens! We enjoyed some great wine tasting from vineyards of the Yarra Valley and sampled some caramalised almonds and delicious marinated mushrooms. For lunch we decided on spinach and cheese filled Gozleme, a delicious Turkish treat and for dessert we couldn't go past the Dutch Poffertjes with lemon and icing sugar! Yum, yum and yum!

Before the day was up, I couldn't leave this vibrant festival empty handed - tasting some local homemade chutneys and jams I decided on the nectarine, red capsicum and chilli chutney along with the peach and passion fruit jam. Sound tasty don't they? Well yes, these delicious flavour combinations really are great (not sure how long they'll last at home!) There is also a tulip picking station where you can walk through and hand pick your own tulips to take home and enjoy. A chose a variety of the colours and they are starting to blossom beautifully. They are actually sitting in front of me and I can't help but look at them constantly, hoping that they'll open a little more every time I look!

This gorgeous Spring festival is running until October 9th, with next weekend being Irish Weekend! I certainly recommend heading over to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - but may I suggest to leave your high heels at home and bring along your gumboots, to make the most of your exploring through the farm!