We started our holiday in Canberra with a visit to Floriade, the large spring flower festival. Entry was free, which surprised us. Traders and sponsors appear to provide sufficient funding to top up what the government puts in. The plantings of bulbs, intermixed with other spring ground covers, were stunning. Around the park were beds planted to big designs, which could not really be seen as there were no high platforms.
That didn't really matter, as the plantings deserved a detailed look. The interplanting of the bulbs with ground covers gave rich textures.
There was steady drizzle through the morning, so we retreated for coffee. When the weather cleared, we found some truely inspiring flower designs.
After a picnic lunch we visited the National Gallery (of Canberra). For us 'Blue Poles' by Jackson Pollock and 'The Ned Kelly Series' by Sydney Nolan latched in the memory.
Though billed as the National Gallery of Australia, it doesn't really live up to it. The National Gallery of Victoria has a more significant collection. Which truth be told, results from starting the collection earlier and receiving generous private funding.
The café at the National Gallery however overlooks some amazing Australian landscape design. The intermingling of snow gums and other Australian natives with the grey granite paving and cream stucco walls created what for me is a highlight image.
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