TOOWOOMBA

Yesterday we had to drive to Toowoomba a large country town about an hour and a half 's drive from Brisbane.
It is situated about 2000+feet above sea level at the top of a fairly steep climb.
To get there we drove through the Lockyer Valley, parts of which were scenes of heartbreak and devastation during the floods earlier in the year.

Once we had finished our business in the town we drove to Picnic Point, a lookout back over the valley towards Brisbane.




It was a beautiful day with lovely views through the trees over the valley way below us.

( click to enlarge )

By now it was quite late in the day - about 5 o'clock. It's amazing the temperature difference being at this height makes and Toowoomba is quite famous for being a cold place.

The cafe at the kiosk was closing so no chance of a coffee there

and the temperature was falling quite rapidly so we had a quick look around the gardens.

We spied a Kangaroo Paw in full flower

and this interesting plant now called a Grass Tree
 ( once called a Black Boy in less politically correct times )

They are extremely slow growing, almost impossible to transplant from the wild and produce a single brown, spear -like "flower" spike that sticks straight up in the air.

Toowoomba is famous for its flowers and its famous Carnival of Flowers begins next weekend so the gardens in all the public areas are just beginning to come into bloom.

This striking plant was covered with large blue flowers spikes

and the big beds were full of colour.

I love this one.
We call it May but it is not a Hawthorne which I think they call that May in the UK.

This is the flower close up.



Don't you love these decorative Kales?  (I think !)
It seems that Spring is a little late here this year and the tulips are just beginning to poke through above the Kale....

except for one lonely yellow one which will be on time for the carnival.

Huge clumps of Cliveas were everywhere in two distinct colours

dark

and light.

and you know my weakness for the blue / yellow combination which formed a border of many of the colourful beds of flowers.

Next we headed home down the steep mountainside.

This is a major transport linking highway , travelled by huge road transports

and the warning signs and emergency escapes filled with gravel to slow down out of control trucks,

  make it an interesting descent.

I'm always glad when we are able to get clear of the trucks and arrive at the bottom unscathed.

Home just on dark.

Cheers.

ps. We will try to revisit Toowoomba for a better look at the flowers in a week or so when the crowds have diminished a little.