Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Up the garden path
We're back from our northern soujourn early. The rain drove us back south. I'm quite gloomy about it actually. I didn't get to spend much time with my dear Dad or my friend Heidi.
However, while we were there, my Mum, Dad, the children and me visited one of my most favourite-est spots, the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens. They are celebrating their 140th anniversary this year.
As usual, the gardens were looking spectacular, even on an overcast day.
At this point, I must apologise for the photos. They have all been taken on my mobile phone because I forgot my camera.
My very most favourite part of the gardens is the Hugo Lassen Fernery. It was built in about 1938 and it's spectacular.

Above is one of the entries and inside it looks like this. It is made from slatted timber which is now beautifully aged and overgrown with moss.
The botanical gardens also has one of the largest and oldest frangipani trees I've ever seen. You can see an old Banyan tree behind it which is over 100 years old, probably more like 140 years.

The gardens also has a zoo. I so wish the Mt Coot-tha gardens would get one. Each day the gardens workers take the dingoes out of their enclosures and give them a walk, just like our domestic dogs, although the ones still enclosed give the most agonising howls.
My favourite animal however, is the humble emu.
I showed the children the old butterfly collections housed at the gardens. The reason for my life long obsession with butterflies.

The collections are old and beautiful, and ornately displayed.  If you ever find yourself driving through the beef capital, stop and have a look at the gardens.
Also, I mentioned a few posts ago, about my delivering a note when I was a little girl. It was a note saying,'If ever you want to sell your house, please call me'. The note went into the letterbox of this house.

I still love it, and it still looks exactly the same. The paint job is now old and peeling, but the appeal is the same if not more.
My Dad is the most gifted gardener I know. He has gone through many phases. Firstly, orchids. One of which I believe he named after me? This is his 'bush house'. He wholesales to nurseries, landscapers and private collectors. Let me know if you're after a special brom. He may just have it.

He is now madly into bromeliads, or 'broms'. Here's a few snaps.

While I was there he gave me three frangipani cuttings (yellow, red and white), two clivias and some old man's beard.
Tomorrow I will take a photo of our nearly painted front and back doors. Most satisfactory.

5 comments:

  1. I can't believe you've been and gone Juls. I'm heading in tomorrow for a couple of days and had grand intentions of lunching with you and the girls!!!
    The weather isn't very pleasant though for holidaying. Pleased you're home safely.

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  2. I can't believe we're home so early either. Feeling pretty gloomy about it. I heard there was flooding around Marlborough so didn't think we'd get to visit. I'll probably give it another crack in the Christmas holidays.

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  3. Oh. My. God. Your dad's bromeliads!!!!!!!!!!! I am a DEVOTED bromeliad lover. I do hope you'll be having some dotted about the traps at your home. I love the fact that they look good year round and can't be killed with a blow torch. I wish my parents were into gardening on that scale. Those 2 pink bottom ones are stunning. I have put all my girlfriends onto your blog. The stuff we like the most are Gwen's old clothes and Gwen's old costime jewels. We like everything though. Esp the renovated house. x

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  4. Thanks for sharing the trip down memory lane. It brought back many fond memories of going to the botanical gardens with my family and nurseries growing up in Darwin. I could almost feel the humidity & it was a fascination with peacocks I got from those times. Loved the old house, and what a great job your Dad has!

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  5. We searched for the peacocks at the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens but they don't seem to be there anymore. I love the noise they make, although maybe the people who live in the nearby houses didn't!

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