Wattle Day – Canberra's Green Spaces

Wattle day is the beginning of spring in Australia, and Canberra is just exploding with lovely soft yellow wattle flowers and colourful birds

This was one of the first photos I took when I began my blog in 2014, and I chose the National Arboretum in Canberra at dawn.

The proposal for the site was to have 100 Forests 100 gardens…and this began to be implemented in 2005.

The building in the distance is the Margaret Whitlam Pavilion and when I took this photo, I never dreamt that one day the younger of our two daughters would be getting married in this Pavilion, and in this beautiful setting.

The wedding is planned for spring time, and we are hoping for a sunny day, but we will enjoy the day regardless of weather.

The grassy rolling hills next to the Pavilion always seem to be a big attraction for children.

There will be children at the wedding and I’m sure they will enjoy a run and play after the wedding.

The Village Centre is not far from the Pavilion, and has an Information Centre, a café, a restaurant and a gift shop.

The photos in this post were taken between 2014 to 2020, and since that time we have had some good years of rain, and the trees are flourishing. The National Arboretum has become a wonderful place of recreation for Canberrans and visitors alike.

Needless to say, for our family, this will be an extra special place in our hearts.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope your gardens are flourishing regardless of rain, hail or snow!

I’m a little bit late for this greeting…. Wattle Day in Australia is 1st September, the beginning of spring.

The Golden Wattle flower is our national floral emblem.

Golden wattle National Archives of Australia (422x425) — Golden Wattle National Archives of Australia

It is colourful, full of hope, incredibly resilient, and regenerates easily after fire. The perfect Australian plant.

There are more than 1000 species of wattle in Australia, and I am told, somewhere in Australia a Wattle plant is flowering every day of the year. How about that!

Terry Fewtrell, the Wattle Day Association President says that wattles have been part of the Australian landscape for 30 million years,

“Wattles are like the great silent witness to the whole Australian story…”

I walked around my suburb on Wattle Day, and some Wattles were flowering…

Some parts were nearly finished…

and some were just starting to bloom..

Flowering in the National Art Gallery spring garden is a more unusual Wattle, with a cinnamon coloured flower. It is called Acacia Leprosa or Scarlet Blaze.

No matter which Wattle plant you choose for your garden, Angus Stewart, from Gardening Australia, says you are onto a winner … (in a very expressive Aussie kind of way)

”because wattles literally grow on the sniff of an empty fertilizer bag”

I was having a very Australian bird kind of day on the first day of spring as I walked….

The Red Wattle bird is watching me from the garden.

Our resident magpie is….looking alert. Magpies can be tricky in spring because they become very territorial and can swoop passers-by. I like to think I’ve built up some good karma by providing so many water bowls for them in summer, not to mention putting up with high maintenance babies.

At the end of the day….a call from the two very cute new kookaburras who seem to have set up home in our area..

And, as the sun is setting over the Brindabella Mountains, more rain is promised this week…

What could be better for the first week of spring?

I hope you are enjoying your green spaces wherever you are in the world.

Tag: Wattle Day

Happy Wattle Day, National Arboretum Canberra, and a wedding

Happy Wattle Day and spring time in Canberra!