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…nambour garden expo 026It 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…

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cyclamens dazzle

 

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

 

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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.nambour garden expo 053Another 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. nambour garden expo 055

 

 

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. nambour garden expo 013

 

 

nambour garden expo 007On 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. nambour garden expo 081

 

nambour garden expo 073This 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.

nambour garden expo 050Finally 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. nambour garden expo 109nambour garden expo 102nambour garden expo 100

 

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)nambour garden expo 089I 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.

 

57 comments

  1. What a totally delightful day out. So exciting to see so many plants. Red-hot pokers are my current favourite, though they don’t seem to like my garden very much. Fab photo of Jack with parakeets. He wears them well 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I can imagine how tiring it is walking around one of these places, and the crowds. And I want to know what that parrot is whispering into Jack’s ear (nice cap btw). The yellow flowers you say are azaleas. Are you sure as they don’t look like any azaleas I have seen. Wrong shape. But it might be a camellia! 😀

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      • I was just thinking that those people who were commenting about buying yellow azaleas would be disappointed not to find these beauties! Not that yellow azaleas aren’t pretty flowers. Yellow camellias on the other hand are unusual, I don’t think I have seen any here, yet.

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        • I’ve altered the caption now Jude, but too late for the people that have already been to the post. I should’ve taken more notes on them, I must admit to being a bit slack in that department and always regret it when it comes to writing the blog

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  3. On Wed, 18 Jul 2018 at 6:22 pm Living in Paradise… wrote:

    > pommepal posted: “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” >

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  4. Those little birds are so crazily colored! Their beaks look like they could to a lot of damage though. The green parrots that naturalized in Los Angeles eat carob pods and eucalyptus pods. Their beaks are so very powerful! Those birds do not looks nearly as scary as wallabies though.
    Is Frida Kahlo popular there? She and her husband Diego Rivera sometimes worked in the San Francisco area, and had a studio in Montara, where my Pa used to live. The callas and other cut flowers that Diego Rivera painted grew in the fields around town.

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  5. It looks like it was a fun day. I loved that cute, cute, cute scarecrow! I’ve never seen a yellow Camellia either. They’re very pretty.
    I love Botanical watercolor art. LOVE IT! I’m not good enough to do it myself, but I play with it anyway.
    I would have spent a lot of time in that section.

    Thanks for sharing the day. I enjoyed it!

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