Floriadne 2012 & Spring Flowers

 G'Day,
           Yep! You guessed it. Floriade is on here in Canberra again. It is a festival of spring time and her floral bounty. The displays this year, as for every year, astound me.
I always wonder how they time everything so beautifully to have the flowers last for the whole time the festival is on. Especially so, as there is always changeable weather  in Canberra at this time of year. We can get everything from frosts to very warm dry days, strong winds and heavy rain with thunder storms.

 Not all of the photographs I have added for this post are taken at Floriade, I will label them accordingly for you.
The first pic above his text is of one of my favourite reasons to go to the botanic gardens in Canberra.He is a Gippsland water dragon. The day I took this picture was sunny but cold and I disturbed this little bloke as he was trying to warm himself in the sunshine near the information office and bookshop area. He tried to squeeze himself back between the rocks to hide from me. On warm days and during the summer these dragons are everywhere in the gardens but more prolific around the waterfall area and water features.



The flowers at Floriade are centered around Tulips of all colors, shapes, styles and sizes. each year there is a different theme. The plantings are done in patterns and pictures which can be explored, worked out, if you so wish, and seen better from the heights of the ferris wheel in the park. To tell you the truth, this year I didn't even bother to try and work them out. I just enjoyed the flowers and tent displays.

I thought these white and pink Tulips were lovely. Then again, I liked them all. You can see some of the under plantings in the closer photos. They included Hyacinths, Viola, English daisies, Daffodils , Poppies and Jonquils.

Same bed taken further back. these flowers must have to be some of the most photographed in all of Australia, going by the people there, nearly all if not all of them were clicking away.

This is the lake in the centre of commonwealth park where Floriade is held each year. The bed of Daffodils are finished flowering. Of course you can see that can't you.

 The beds along here were planted out with  themed patterns. With some imagination you can sort of see that the yellow tulips here form a stiletto.

 Isn't this pretty. White tulips, small red tulips, white hyacinths and English daisies adorn this bed.

Another view of the lake , across one of the tulip beds.

This purple Tulip wasn't sure which color it wanted, so it chose to be both purple and red combined.

A double white tulip.
My hand, I stabbed it with a knife while trying to remove an avocado seed. How stupid, I know very well how to do that and went ahead to do it the wrong way. My fault, but I did have a very sore hand for a few days.Hahaha.

A white fringed Tulip.

 Along this walkway in amongst the trees and on both sides of the pathway, hundreds of white perspex peace cranes had been hung. It looked really good. You can't see it very well in the photos though.
 The picture below this shows a closer example of the cranes.

Red Tulips. I love red. There were many different shades of red amongst the tulips displayed.

 The yellow, red and purple tulips in this bed were planted so that they were different heights and rose and fell like a big quilt or clouds or rippling waves.

Red red tulips, red English daisies and the smaller red parrot tulips .

These raised beds were in the Bunnings display area. They were planted with edible things, leafy greens, herbs and vegetables. I want these for my new yard when I move. They are a better height than many raised beds that I have seen and of a proportion that allowed you to stand and reach across to tend the plants, without getting down on my haunches and hurting my stupid legs and knees. Because they are metal they would hopefully last for many years as well.

I love Poppies. These ones are either Artists poppies or Iceland poppies. They are tough annuals so will grow easier than the big poppies.









Below is a closer view of a gorgeous poppy. These flowers say "Spring!" to me.

A big bed of little white daisies. Oh my do you think I can remember their proper name? 
I know I should but........

A big steam powered Calliope that is at Floriade every year. 

  The next lot of photos I have displayed in this post are not taken at Floriade. The scene above is taken from The Red Hill lookout. Which is one of several placed on the hills around Canberra to view the city from different angles.In the center you can see the big flagpole that sits above new Parliament house. The lake beyond is Lake Burley Griffin. Named after the bloke who won the competition to design Canberra. It runs through the city and is made by the damming of the Molongolo river, which flows down into the Murrumbidgee river. Peter and I were up there last weekend and went into the restaurant/ cafe up the top for afternoon tea. I always wanted to go in there.

The next photo is taken in The Victory Memorial gardens in Wagga's main street.
I think this is called loropetalum?
It was in the sensory garden there.

Sweet Williams in the Victory Memorial Gardens, Wagga.

Orange Calendula. Wagga gardens again.

 Perfect yellow Calendula. Wagga again.
 We sat in the park here at lunchtime and phoned the real estate lady to make an offer on the house we are going to buy.  So, another memory made. Another memory to add to times spent in this park over many years of visits during my life.
 As a child, feeding the ducks and being scared of the honking geese there.
 Of running through here barefoot and grubby, climbing on the trees, putting my bare feet in the lagoon and poking the water with sticks at 10 years old.
 Of the possum who made us teenaged girls scream and run when he showed himself in the tree that hung over the bridge in the main street right in our faces, late one night after a rock concert.
 Of other photos taken of my own children playing on the play equipment in the park.
Of lunchtime meetings with my husband in the park for lunch, when he worked at the council across the road when my eldest son was a baby.
 Of  soft serve ice creams that melted and ran down your arms and shirt in the summer heat,  bought from the dairy delight shop just around the corner in the main street, now closed.
Or my children, in their teens, laughing wildly as a bird pooped on my head while we had a picnic lunch of Kentucky Fried chicken there.
Of  attempts to escape into the shade of big trees on hot sweltering summer days .
Or waiting as a child to stand underneath that huge old pine tree to see the Christmas lights turned on.

 The pic above is at Wagga again. A bright bed of Livingstone daisies and viola.

Back in Canerra one of my favorite Sunday things to do is go to the Kingston Bus depot markets. They have gourmet foods and plants, craft and arts, buskers, a food hall area, antiques and a junk place out the back.
One of the things I will miss when I move from Canberra is this place.

 Kingston markets again. The still warm woodfired bread, antipasto, and strawberries are a highlight.

These next pics are of the orchids at the botanic gardens again. Don't know their names.

The color of this orchid reminds me of little eggs.

Little papery daisies planted near the waterfalls at the royal botanic gardens, Canberra.