Queensland Garden Expo…

Being a passionate gardener I really wanted to go to the Queensland Garden Expo even though it is almost a 200 kilometre drive  to get there. It’s about 15 years since I last went and I have pleasant memories of wandering around the exhibition gardens and browsing through the plant stalls and exhibitions.

So here we are…It is swarming with gardening type people, the fashion of the day is jeans, a cool top and a sun hat. Many are clutching bags brimming with plants they have bought.

There are 3 large pavilions crammed with every type of plant for sale you could wish for.

 

Bromeliads of every colour are star performers, but this one is too big and expensive for us to take home. So we wander on…

cyclamens dazzle

 

I have never seen a yellow camellia before and these were getting a lot of attention.

 

Look at this huge Anthurium.

I managed to resist buying any thing, even though I was very tempted. But now it is time to find a coffee.Another popular place and, surprisingly, not too long a wait. So we relax under a gum tree, sitting on a bale of hay, and are entertained by a busker, and do some people watching.

 

 

Refreshed and rested we wander next into the floral pavilion. There are many fantastic entries in the floral arrangement competition and there are a number of themes, “sublime purple” and “clouds of flowers” were just 2 of them. The cameras get a good work-out in here.

 

 

On the far side of the floral pavilion was a collection of botanical art. I spent quite some time studying these. It is amazing the meticulous detail they had captured. I do admire this sort of art.

Further round and we find the Veggie patch. An area dedicated to all things edible.

 

This bloke is a one man band and Jack had to congratulate him. As you can see it had got hot, so off came Jack’s shirt. It’s music that gives a happy atmosphere and brings smiles to people’s faces. In another area a Jamaican steel band was entertaining the crowd.

Finally we found the display gardens. I was a little disappointed in them as they were small and only a few of them. I showed my favourite in this previous post. Here’s a look at a some of the others.

 

There was lots more to do. Well known gardening experts were giving talks on a multitude of subjects, unfortunately we could only fit so much in the time available so sadly had to miss the talks. Then there were cooking demonstrations, plant clinics and forums for discussing your plant related problems one on one with an expert, kids activities and hundreds of stalls displaying and selling all kinds of tools, gadgets and things to improve your garden. But we were getting weary, it had been a long day, so we slowly head back to find were we had parked the car. On the way out we had to stop to have a chat with these little fellows. (Look at that blue sky)I had booked us into an Airbnb accommodation in a nearby village. Nambour was fully booked weeks in advance. So putting the address into the GPS we head for our bed.

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I’m joining “Restless Jo” and her lovely band of world wide walkers this week. Jo has a real treat in store this week when she went tall ship sailing.