Floral Fest for the Inner West
Once every year, the inland city of Toowoomba becomes a kaleidoscope of colour, as the annual spring Carnival of Flowers attracts tourists from far and wide, like bees to the honey pot. Perched on the edge of the Darling Downs, Toowoomba is bounded to the east by a tall and imposing escarpment which drops steeply down towards the Lockyer Valley, with Brisbane some 120 km beyond. The majority of this second most populous inland city in Australia, however, rolls across the gentle dip slopes as though aspiring to face towards the path of the early inland explorers like Cunningham and Fraser.
There are the formal gardens, such as Queens Park, Laurel Bank Park, the State Rose Garden, Picnic Point and the Boyce Gardens and Rainforest, strategically set out around the inner suburbs of the city, with the Japanese Gardens uniquely and awesomely manicured further out to the south west, on the edge of the university campus. Then there are the myriads of privately owned competition gardens, dotted around the community, like special petal clusters, specially open to the public for this ten day floral festival, each uniquely different and serenely special in its own way, leaving the visitor stunned into appreciative silence. All of these floral tributes are a haven for birdlife, buzzy bees and the occasional flitting butterfly.
This year the theme at Laurel Bank Park was the XXI Commonwealth Games, held in April of this year at the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane. This explains, to the uninitiated, why there were so many cardboard cut-out athletes around the central display, each implicitly threatening to squash the carpet of blooms beneath and around them (as depicted in the title image).
It is impossible, at this time of year in Toowoomba, to escape the blossoms, blooms and bursting bouquets of boronias, banksias (Australian honeysuckle), bottlebrush (callistemon) and begonias.
Nor are you likely to miss the pastel pink posies of petunias, the gorgeous gerbera daisies, and the rows and rows of roses. Then there's the lush landscapes of lavender, the magnificent magnolias, lanky long lupins, and a Netherland of therapeutic tulips.One particularly quirky private garden caught our eye at Mable Street, on the north side of town. First prize winner of the Family Gardens class, this magical carpeted playing field was reportedly laid out to entertain and engage the single parent owner's children, although he mentioned during our visit that it's the 'oldies' who appear to get most out of his labours, chuckling their way around the various themes. You can see below a special little spot, set out for the 'littlies', and with that famous song softly playing through speakers in the background.If you go down in the woods today,
You're sure of a big surprise,
If you go down in the woods today,
You'd better go in disguise!
For every bear that ever there was,
Will gather there for certain because,
Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic.Anne Murray's "Teddy Bear's Picnic"
Photographs
http://ken-boddie.squarespace.com
The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a sometime poet and occasional writer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded people with diverse interests.
Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.
Articles from Ken Boddie
View blogI've been sleep deprived lately, so I thought I'd run around the bed several times to catch up on my ...
Kia ora, nau mai ki Aotearoa (Hello and welcome to the Land of the Long White Cloud). · It had been ...
The Japanese are seemingly working on a ‘ground-breaking’ solution to prevent earthquake damage to d ...
Related professionals
You may be interested in these jobs
-
IR Specialist
Found in: beBee S2 AU - 6 days ago
Randstad Australia Melbourne CBD, Australia FreelanceHR Partners by Randstad is excited to be partnering with an organization who are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Industrial Relations Specialist to join their team for a 12 Week Fixed Term Contract project role. · The Industrial Relations Specialist will play a crucial ...
-
McCafe Barista
Found in: Talent AU C2 - 1 week ago
McDonalds Woonona, Australia Full timeCompany Description · McDonald's Australia is a modern and progressive burger company serving over 1.7 million customers every day. Macca's has over 990 restaurants across Australia and a current workforce of over 100,000 employees. More than 85% of restaurants are owned and oper ...
-
Client Services Officer
Found in: Talent AU C2 - 1 day ago
Equity Trustees Sydney, Australia Full timeDo you have excellent organisational skills and enjoy providing support to teams while ensuring clients receive exceptional experiences? Are you comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and can you handle multiple tasks at once while maintaining a positive attitude? If you ...
Comments
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #13
I haven’t heard of “that place” either, Pascal. 🤣😂🤣
Pascal Derrien
5 years ago #12
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #11
We always seem to leave this trip to the last minute, Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador, when the accommodation’s all booked up. I guess we could’ve slept in the woods ..... but those teddy bears can be feisty at night. 🤣😂🤣
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #10
many thanks, Teagan Geneviene, but just remember, “If you go down to the woods today, You’d better go in disguise”. 🤣😂🤣
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #9
Flattery will get you everywhere, Jennifer Leach-Trask, even to Toowoomba. 😉
Ian Weinberg
5 years ago #8
Busy on all fronts. Also had the wind knocked out of me by my doggie’s illness and death. But otherwise strong and looking forward to the trip to Oz and meeting up with the family next month.
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #7
Thanks, Debasish, for frequently popping in to peep at my pollin.
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #6
#3 Too kind, Ian Weinberg. Roses are red, Grass lawns are green, Ain’t seen you much lately, How’ve you been?
Ken Boddie
5 years ago #5
Thanks, Paul Walters, for your polinating praise.
Debasish Majumder
5 years ago #4
Ian Weinberg
5 years ago #3
Ian Weinberg
5 years ago #2
Paul Walters
5 years ago #1