Sunday 17 July 2016

Not a good day for a flower show

Yesterday the Camellia and Garden Expo was held and the forecast was for a wet and windy day and that was certainly how it turned out. I had hoped to go to the show especially as the proceeds go to the Toowoomba Hospice but with the weather so bad plans were changed especially as I couldn't find my umbrella anywhere ;-) However, by lunch time the house was so cold and the weather so miserable that we decided to go for a drive to Bunnings to pick up something for the CEO and on the way home, on impulse, thought we would drive past the show and see if everything had been moved inside.  We drove up to the entrance and couldn't see (from there) if there were any plant sellers out in the weather so decided then and there to take a look at the Expo. Jerry Coleby-Williams from Gardening Australia was due to speak just after we arrived so that sounded interesting.



 To our surprise there were people selling plants etc. out in the rain and wind and it was a wonder they weren't blown away as it was really, really blustery. So we headed for one of the large tents where there were displays and I think there was a competition going on in there. Some of the camellias were absolutely gorgeous.








Don't you love those old shoes? 


 

 There we had a quick run through the rain to get to another undercover area where cyclamens were on sale and their colours were quite stunning. 




I have never grown cyclamens but these were really pretty. I didn't have my camera with me so just had to use my phone and the photos don't do the beauty of the plants justice.




Then we had another mad dash in the rain to try and have a quick look at some of the plants for sale and this one caught my attention. It is called 'Cow's Udder' but it is purely ornamental.




The lady selling them said the fruit could make you quite sick. I would loved to have looked at the other stalls but it really was too wet unfortunately so we raced into the speaker's tent where there was a gas patio heater to keep us warm and we settled in there and waited for Jerry to arrive. We had no idea what he was going to talk about but at least we were warm.



 He arrived and, blow me down, he was going to talk about turf management. Well, we don't have much lawn at our place so I wondered if it was just going to be a waste of time but he is a very good speaker and it wasn't long before he had our attention. It was so blowy that that sign you see behind him blew down and almost hit him but it was fairly light so he wouldn't have been hurt but he would have had a bit of a fright. I am not quite sure why he had his hat on as the sun was nowhere to be seen as you can imagine :-)



It was nearly 4pm by the time Jerry finished talking and we came outside to this....





...and this once pretty floating design which was filling up with water on the pond :-)




Then we made another mad dash out the exit to the car thinking we were crazy to go out on such a dismal day. That's what happens when you do something on impulse! 

I hope your weekend was a little more pleasant where you live although I think most people who live in Queensland have had rain or high winds over much of the weekend. Thankfully some areas out west and in the north-west of Queensland are at last getting good rains which they have waited a long time for. 











8 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed the photos Chel, but how disappointed the organisers must have been to have had such bad weather. The weather here was rainy and blustery all weekend, so I could not work in the garden at all, but I got bits and pieces done inside the house.

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    1. Sherri at least it wasn't raining yesterday but was still windy so hopefully more people turned up at the show than on Saturday. It must have been disappointing for the organisers.

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  2. What a pity about the weather. We are almost like spring after suffering the worst storms ever. David works at Newmans Nursery who are camellia specialists...wow it's looking great at the moment! xxx

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    1. Meg the weather has now cleared up after fog all morning and we are in for some 21C days apparently which is a bit unseasonal but so is winter rain :-)

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  3. Jerry is my favourite gardener! Very envious of you.
    The shoes are exactly what my paternal grandmother wore in the late 1920's at her wedding! I can remember them sitting in her wardrobe untouched.

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  4. Dear Chel, brownie points to you for venturing out in that at all! Love the pics and especially the sweet shoes. I had a pair similar when I got married. Very cute. Love, Mimi xxx

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  5. Jerry is a great speaker, Chel. I love listening to him talk about anything really. As you said, even if he is speaking about something you are not interested in I still find that you come away thinking that it was worthwhile time spent. Funny really - he just has that knack.

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  6. But it makes a wonderful tale!!! The cyclamens were beautiful!!

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