#Floriade — Blog — Sandra Bennett

As I drive around our beautiful little valley in the countryside just outside of Canberra, the wattle is in bloom everywhere and cute little lambs are beginning to appear in the paddocks. Our eldest grandson delights in pointing out every wattle he spots. It is a glorious reminder that Spring has sprung and we should take the time to smell the proverbial roses while basking in the sunshine and hint of warmth that this new season brings.

At 3 !/2 years, my grandson is learning the names of not only the wattle trees, but also pine trees, cherry blossoms, (although he calls them cherry blossom wattles at the moment), photinia with their white flowers and red tipped leaves, and the various varieties of gum trees on our property. Our neighbour’s hedge of callistemon (commonly referred to as bottle brush) is ready to burst in an abundance of reds and pinks any day. We may be still in lockdown, but at least we can enjoy the magnificent outdoors in the fresh country air. Fingers crossed we will slowly be able to emerge from our isolation cocoons somewhere around mid-October, and spread our wings and fly like brightly coloured butterflies. it is a perfect time to enjoy all the beauty that Spring has to offer,

As the Spring evenings begin to rise above freezing, hubby and I are also enjoying more dinners outside by our fireball as we watch the magnificent sunsets on the distant Brindabella Ranges. The sky’s colourful palette never ceases to amaze me. Spring and Autumn are my favourite seasons to light our fireball, not too cold when the temperature plummets in Winter and before the Summer heatwaves bring essential fire bans.

As much as I am quite content to savour the delights of Spring from home, we are looking forward to the day when we are permitted to go a little further afield. Living in the border bubble between NSW and ACT, we have been avoiding entering Canberra whenever possible. This is usually the season when Floriade is in full bloom and friends and family visit us to stroll through the tulips. Due to covid, Floriade was cancelled for the second year in a row, however I believe like last year, pots of tulips have been planted in locations around the suburbs for locals to enjoy. If you live in Canberra, why not enjoy a blissful Spring day strolling through your suburb or along the foreshore and see if you can find any elusive tulips sprouting colour in pots for you to enjoy. Prefer a bike ride? Take the kids for a ride around the lake, it’s always great fun in the sun.

2020 Floriade when the tulips were spread around the Canberra foreshore.

Living in the surrounds of the ‘Bush Capital,’ (and Canberra is called that for good reason) also allows us plenty of access to wonderful bushwalks in National Parks. A picnic and walk in Tidbinbilla Nature reserve is fabulous at this time of year. See if you can find a mob of kangaroos or wallabies, maybe if you are lucky, you will see a platypus in the river or even a koala nibbling on a few gum leaves high above in the trees. Just be careful, snake season is upon us, they will be coming out of hibernation. If you do see a snake, don’t panic, stop and wait for it to pass, the snake is probably just as frightened of you. My friends and family in the Shire on the southern edge of Sydney can always take advantage of bushwalks in the Royal National Park too, a fabulous area I always loved to visit when I grew up.

We are hoping before Spring ends and the crowds start to flock to the beaches, that we will be able to take a drive to the coast for a lunch date with fish and chips at out favourite takeaway in Batemans Bay, The Boat Shed. The fish is always mouth wateringly fresh and the view of the Clyde River where it greets the bay is spectacular.

With restrictions still in place, it makes it hard to enjoy the Spring weather, but with a little thought there is plenty you can still do not far from your doorstep.

How will you spend your Spring days and evenings?

What is your favourite way to enjoy the new season? Please share in the comments below.

If you enjoyed these suggestions, but are still looking for more ideas to fill your Spring days, please read these other #Gr8tblogs from my author friends in our blog hop ‘Making The Most Out of the New Season.’

Fall Favourites Rebecca Lyndsey

3 Harmful Habits to Cast Aside in the New Season Julie Schooler

A Fall Self-Care Bucket List to Make the Most Out of Autumn Julie Gorges

Happy Autumn, Pumpkin Spice, and Everything Nice about Fall! Jim Milson

What’s Not To Love - Six Things To Make You Fall for Fall. Cat Michaels

Jumping Into Fall 2021 With Big News at Books by Rose. Rosie Russell

What’s On Your Fall Bucket list? Auden Johnson

It’s that time of year again where we Canberrans begin to live in hope of a little warmth and sunshine. But don’t put away your winter woollies too quickly. Just when the weather feels like it has turned a corner and we can end our hibernation, the cold winds from the south return.

Late August and September did bring us some beautiful days, enough to start dreaming of Summer holidays, visiting the beach and long country walks.

Towards the end of August after a hectic bookish month, (see last months post), I escaped for a well earned rest to warmer skies. Perth already felt like Spring had sprung. I shared several glorious days with my eldest son and his wife. We explored the wonderful Swan Valley region with all its delicious offerings of wineries, chocolate factories and even a gin distillery.

I discovered like Canberra, Perth too, has a tulip festival. Their’s is set among the beautiful hills behind Perth in the Araluen Botanic Park. A hidden native garden I had no idea existed until this visit. We had planned to visit the gardens for the day anyway, when on arrival we found to our delight the tulip festival had begun. It was a perfect Spring day for meandering along garden paths under Eucalypt trees taking in the abundant colour.

Naturally, as with all my trips to Perth, we also visited Kings Park Botanical Gardens. Many of the native wildflowers were just beginning to bloom, but I did take a few lovely shots of some of the Kangaroo Paw.

Springtime in Canberra means tulips, wattles and cherry blossoms. Not to mention the inevitable hay fever that comes along with all the pollen. On one of my morning walks around our valley I did stop to take a few pics of the wattle. Its bright yellow blossoms always bring sunshine to any day.

Back home in Canberra our own Floriade has begun in all its amazing glory. I have had the opportunity to walk around the festival twice already this year. It is wonderful to see all the families out and about enjoying the weather and all that Floriade has to offer. Including the tulips and pansies, Floriade also entertains with an annual painted garden gnome competition, ferris wheel rides and art & craft, and local produce stalls. I found my picture books ‘Emma the Eager Emu’ and ‘Frazzled Freya’, both being sold among the stalls and enjoying the sunshine, (thanks so much to Monica of Wombat Cards & Gifts).

We even managed our first trip to the beach this month. Although the wind was still a tad chilly, it was fabulous to soak in the sun and watch our grandson experience the sand and surf for the first time.

I did do one school visit, for a writer’s workshop with year 5 & 6 students, (and a book signing too, at Harry Hartog in Woden.) but that is the topic of another blog post. Maybe next time.

With the Spring also came a bit of much needed rain. (We still need a lot more.) The paddocks have been looking very hard and dry and our water tanks have never been so low. On a positive note the rain brings the kangaroos out more to graze during the day. It is a chance to see all the cute new joeys as they begin to pop out of their mother’s pouches. We have also had deer grazing in our paddocks more frequently than ever before. I think they have discovered the green grass where our grey water waste flows. Deer are curious creatures and get up to rather a lot of mischief that includes eating the blossoms from my ornamental pear tree and pulling branches off my gum trees with their massive strong antlers.

Spring is in the air and Summer is just around the corner. Time to start making plans for those lazy hazy days down the beach. That also includes a reading list for time spent in the shade of a tree, swinging in a hammock or lazing by a pool. Perhaps it’s time to plan your next Summer getaway? Don’t forget to include a book for the kids. ‘Secrets Hidden Below’ will take them to the beaches of Bali and beyond. Filled with adventure and surprises it just might inspire you and the kids to book that well deserved holiday.

Have you ever been to a tulip festival?

What are your plans for the upcoming warmer months?

What is on your reading list?

Spring Into The Season

Spring is in the air.