Spring in Toowoomba, QLD at the Carnival of flowers
In September David and I enjoyed a few days in Toowoomba, staying with friends and visiting many beautiful gardens.
Geographically Toowoomba sits on top of the range (Great Divide) and is endowed with rich dark soil, the climate is extreme in Winter and Summer but during Spring there are ideal conditions for dazzling blooms.
Toowoomba has long been recognised as the “garden city”and it's clear the city residents work year- round transforming their private gardens into stunning showpieces.
Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a great horticultural event going over 10 days in September. The city comes alive with spring blooms, floral design, private home garden displays, and community floral events. A real gardener’s paradise.
We went mainly to see the prize-winning gardens and the top exhibition gardens which were absolutely awesome. There were small, large, cottage, formal, acreage, courtyard, native, annuals and flowering bulbs gardens - a huge variety of gardens that would appeal to any gardener. We joined the many visitors, lots of tourists and enjoyed the many spectacular displays of gardens and blooms.
We spent a full day at Queens Park that also hosts the Botanic gardens. It was like stepping back in time, meticulously tended, beautiful Camphor Laurel lined avenue, bright flower beds, large canopies of trees and acres of expansive lawn. The main festivities for the carnival took place here. The food and wine festival was the big attraction throughout the day, the fellows were particularly interested in the craft beer and BBQ tastings. The talks by the crafters covered beer styles, flavours and food-matching. In the Greenhouse, Sophie Thomson (ABC presenter) gave a great talk on sustainable gardening. There were avenues of tree floral displays, a henna hut, chocolate stalls, a huge wine alley and Latin and jazz music to entertain the visitors.
Another of the city outdoor spaces was the Laurel Bank park. It had a very festive atmosphere, dozens of flowerbeds in spectacular bloom adorned the place. There were some great topiary displays -a great caterpillar and train topiary. There was an Australian map theme to the garden beds complete with a raised for optimum viewing. Musicians played at different venues round the park and provided a nice Carnival atmosphere.
Sample pictures of the different displays ...
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| manicured front garden |
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| just a few tulips |
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| Ranunculas, my favorite blooms |
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| Thomas the Tank engine shaped carefully for the kids |
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| Ornamental Kale and whites in flower |
Some nifty creations
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| Beautiful orchid took Dave's eye ... |
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| Solid outdoor setting |
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| Dave the secret garden lover |
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| a backyard garden with it's own waterfall |
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| Massive Chinese Lantern tree |
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| Lovely Ornamental Peach Tree |
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| a flowery kangaroo |
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| An abundant Wisteria arbor |
An unobtrusive sign seen hanging in a garden, a massive understatement
Carnival of Flowers was a thoroughly festive event.
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