Bison Home in Pialligo hosts Botanica spring festival 2016

The festival of spring is on in Pialligo.

Bison homewares owner Brian Tunks is again holding Botanica, a month-long festival of events celebrating the home and the garden at his studio and shop in Pialligo.

Bison Home owner Brian TunksCredit: Rohan Thomson

Tunks started Botanica last year, with cooking sessions hosted by Gus Armstrong from eightysix restaurant and styling workshops with florists Moxom and Whitney.

This year he's lined up a painting exhibition, dinner party table styling with author Leanne Kitchen, a bake-off featuring the Country Women's Association, and an interior decor session with Leigh-Ann Pow, the editor of Australian Traveller magazine.

"We're a dynamic community and I want to reflect that in the events that we put together," he says.

The festival opens on September 24 with an exhibition of still life paintings by artist Tiffanie Brown. The paintings all have a floral theme.

Tunks and magazine writer, chef and photographer Leanne Kitchen will appear on Saturday, October 1, to show guests how to style the ultimate dinner party table.

"She was a chef herself so she has that beautiful vision of how food and objects interface and the sene of place and how to make something look really beautiful without being over styled." Tunks says.

It will be followed by an hour of appetisers from Gus Armstrong, owner of eightysix in restaurant in Braddon. "He's going to show people how to make simple appetisers from things you've got at home."

The food theme continues on Saturday, October 8 with a fundraising baking competition that's open to the public - bring your best decorated cakes, cupcakes and biscuits in and try to win over the Country Women's Association judges. There'll be prizes for the winners, the chance to buy your favourite cake, and sales from the cakes go to the women's charity Karinya House, which offers shelter to pregnant women and mothers in crisis.

Tunks says Canberra's baking community is very passionate and he wants to see some big entries. "I had no idea it's such a hornet's nest of talent. It was really interesting. I thought there's a documentary in this! Some of the people I've spoken to are so passionate about it," he says.

On Sunday, October 9, florist Loulou Moxom will host the amusingly named "Cloche Encounters of the Floral Kind" - a presentation on how to decorate your home by using pretty objects, flowers and fruit under a glass cloche.

"It's the cloche that I've designed, they're all blown glass and we're going to show people how to style things under glass without it looking like an ode to taxidermy," Tunks says. "It's a lot of fun. I wanted to do something that's not a terrarium."

The final session on October 15 features Leigh-Ann Pow, a former Vogue Australia deputy editor, who will talk about colour and style and how to "layer objects or collections" in your home. And she'll take questions.

Botanica runs from September 24 to October 15. To enter a cake in the Botanica Bake Off or register for an event, see bisonhome.com.au

Have an event we should know about? Tell us [e-mail]