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.