Scraps Of Mind

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show

Well March has been a hectic month so far… and it’s not over yet.

Yesterday the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show opened at the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne. Conveniently, this is at the end of the street where my office building is located, and in an impromptu fit of madness my boss and I decided to conduct our weekly catch up meeting together whilst strolling around the show, enjoying the ambience. This massed display of bougainvilleas was a feast for the eyes, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

The Garden Show is a lot shorter this year than in previous years; four days only instead of the usual two weeks. I’m not sure why, but I suspect it may have something to do with the water restrictions that have now become part of our way of life in Melbourne. I was particularly interested in looking at solutions for catching rainwater in a garden that’s too small to accomodate a watertank and solutions to help me channel my greywater into the garden. The design of my house doesn’t make this an easy thing to do and I’ve spent this last Summer ferrying buckets of water out to the garden every time I have a shower or do a load of washing.

I’ve never been to the show on a weekday before. It’s so much more leisurely and pleasant than battling the crowds that pack in on Saturday and Sunday. We ambled gently around the paths through the park, now lined with exhibits and plant stalls. Saw some great ideas for small garden layouts (those of you who may remember the My Sanctuary post last year will know I have a very small garden) and some wonderful garden sculptures and water features. We collected the brochures on lots of interesting things to follow up on afterwards and enjoyed a totally relaxing break from work.