Come Into The Garden With Me!

Now, I've told you all it's Toowoomba's Carnival of Flowers this week and shared some of my parade photos with you, so today, I thought I'd share some GARDEN photos with you - seems only right, since that IS what the Carnival of Flowers is supposed to be all about!! I was actually feeling a bit down in the dumps yesterday, so a trip with a friend to see some of this year's prize-winning gardens was just what the doctor ordered. Ummm ... I have to confess to getting a LITTLE carried away with the camera, so once again you may like to grab a cuppa before you sit down to look at this post - and if you get hay fever, you'd better grab some tissues and anti-histamine, too! Tee! Hee! Hee! Oh ... and remember, these photos were taken the day AFTER our freaky super dust storm - not only did most of the gardens hold up fairly well, take a look at the blue, blue skies we enjoyed after all the dust blew out to sea! In fact, the way the wind was blowing, my blogging buddy in the Land Of The Long White Cloud, Shiree, was probably 'enjoying' it yesterday! :0)

Right ... first port of call was a 4 acre garden on the southern outskirts of Toowoomba. This is the sight that greeted us as we pulled up ...

Since OUR garden would have fitted into the pond, it was a treat for me to see such a large garden. Here's a closer look at that fabulous water feature ...


I love the mini-windmill that was whirling away in the front there and although you can't see it well in this photo, the little green blob in the water at the top of the falls is a mermaid with a water plant for hair - very cool!


Now, as you know, I'm not at all a pink girl, but this tree was just so vibrant against the background of green leaves and blue sky that I had to take a happy snap.


The clever gardeners here have created mini landscape scenes all through their garden, so that when we stood back from this water feature a bit, we realised our view now incorporated this cool stone lantern.


This bird looked like he was wading in a puddle of colour - aren't the tulips neat!! They were probably at their best a few days earlier, but still pretty speckie!


In keeping with the oriental theme, these pergolas were placed close together - great spot for an afternoon tea with a few friends, I'd say!


When my friend said "Look at the ducks," I assumed she meant garden ornaments, like the big crane with the tulips or some chickens we'd seen in another garden. Nope! She meant REAL ducks - apparently this little web-footed family pops in regularly to help keep the bug population down - saves on ornaments, hey! :0) The only downside is that the little 'messages' they leave behind are ALSO very REAL! Tee! Hee! Hee!



OK ... we've moved on to another garden here - and the ride was so smooth, you missed it! :0) These roses were in a greenhouse to bring them on a bit early, but it also had the effect of intensifying the heavenly scent! Aaaaaaahhhh!! I love the smell of roses in the morning! OK ... so it was afternoon and the movie quote doesn't usually include roses ... but they DID smell pretty good! :0) I also experimented a bit to see if I could get some close up shots ...

Roses are red ...

... and blushing pink ...

... and white and gold and tiger-stripe-red. Don't know if you can see the stripes on that red rose, but they were rather special in real life.


Some of my favourites here - blue salvia up the back, pretty cornflowers (much more purple than I've seen before) and some little white daisies right at the bottom. I love that deep purple colour against the lush green!


I have no idea what these flowers are called, but BOY do I LOVE their vibrant colours! And I'm a sucker for water features large and small - must have something to do with me being a Pisces ... or maybe cos I've lived so much of my life in dry, arid areas!!


OK, we're now entering the Grand Champion Garden for 2009 ... and the last few years, actually! You'll see why as I show you a bit more - though I can't show you ALL of the special features of this garden or we'll be here all day!!


One of the things that makes this garden spectacular is the multitude of mosaic features that are scattered and hidden around the garden - like this pot. So ... THAT'S what you do with pretty china that's not able to be used, but too pretty to throw away!


This HUGE mosaic is on the wall of the landing that leads to one of the most gorgeous outdoor rooms I've ever seen ...


Isn't it FABULOUS!! This is what OUR outdoor area wants to be when it grows up! At the moment it looks more like ... well ... a carport ... because that's what it is ... at the moment! One day when we win Lotto ...! :0) I particularly love the chandelier. My friend pointed out that it would probably drip wax onto the tablecloth (which was a pretty patchwork cloth, too!) but I told her she was being far too practical and raining on my outdoor fantasy room! Tee! Hee! Hee!


This is just one section of a length of garden edge that was about 10 metres long - and there was one of these pretty hearts every metre or so. WOW! This would have had to be mosaic-ed (if that's a word!!) in place - can you imagine how much patience must have been needed to stick with this?!! Hmmm ... I have just had a thought, though ... do you think maybe the lady of the house has a bit of a temper and throws china around when she's venting ... and so she had to find SOMETHING to do with all the broken bits?!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Just a thought!!


The path around the pool is made up of mosaic-ed stepping stones and no two are the same! I loved this fairy one - see ... fairies at the bottom of the garden are a MUST! Here's another paver ...


This one features lovely irises. Even when there's nothing flowering, there would be lots of gorgeous colour in this garden!


I loved this lush green corner - reminds me of the tropics, but it's right here in VERY cold Toowoomba.


There were a number of these rustic looking warriors in this section of the garden - they almost look like they've been discovered in a long-lost-emperor's tomb. I am NOT going out there at night, just in case they come to life and go on a rampage!! Or is that just me having watched far too many "Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" movies?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee!


And another example of mosaic art in this fabulous garden - it sure is easy to see why it won Grand Champ again!

This lovely, tranquil waterfall was from the last garden we saw for the day and was the winner of one of the water feature sections. Told you I'm reather partial to water features!!

So there you go ... some sneaky peeks into some of the prize winning gardens of the 2009 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. Not bad considering we're in the middle of a drought, on some of Australia's strictest water restrictions AND had a freaky super dust storm go through the day before the photos were taken!! Almost makes me want to get out in the garden ... but with an inherited hole-digging dog (THAT'S how I twisted my ankle again!!) it's a bit of an exercise in frustration and futility. SIGH!! Maybe one day we'll have abundant water and a dog pen!!

I hope you enjoyed your garden tour and didn't need TOO many tissues to deal with your allergies and hay fevers with all those flowers! :0) Well, I'm tired all over again from walking all around those gardens, so am off to make a cup of tea and have a little read. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!!

CHEERS!
KRIS