Floral Fantasy

Think of 14 000 roses in 300 varieties and then think of the fragrance of this many blooms filling the air and you'll have some idea of what New Farm Park looks like in spring.

The great circle of the park is lined with jacaranda trees that are almost one hundred years old and I've seen photographs that show the grass covered in a blue carpet of petals.

Alas, the jacarandas weren't cooperating with the guidebooks but the spectacular roses more than made up for this.

According to Wikipedia "the land that the park now stands on was originally a farm, built to supply food for recently founded convict settlement on the Brisbane River.  A racecourse was built on the site in 1846 and operated until 1913 when the land for the park was acquired by Brisbane City Council".

I should have noted the names of the different varieties but, as usual when photographing, my concentration narrows down to the camera viewfinder and I am not to be distracted by anything as mundane as name plates.

I think this was possibly Just Joey.

 The park covers 37 acres and also includes soccer grounds and tennis and basketball courts and the distant  city skyline is a reminder of the fact that this peaceful haven is surrounded by urban sprawl.

At the weekend  the park, with its picnic and barbecue areas,  children's park and large spaces for playing games or just relaxing, attracts many families    On the day we visited the children's playground had been staked out by moms with strollers, blankets and picnic hampers,  while their kids made the most of the last day before school started.   

Stopping to smell the roses.

It's also a popular lunchtime spot for many of the office workers in the area..

A forgotten toy turtle waiting patiently above the ferry timetable.  A favourite expression of my husband's mother, whenever the kids got too wound up at night was "There'll be tears before bedtime" and I guess it might be appropriate here.

Our daughter and the boys would be joining us in the city on the following day and as we walked back down to the New Farm Landing, we both agreed that this was a mandatory stop on our planned river trip to allow the kids work off some energy in the playground.