September has been a very busy month, as we had a wedding in the family!
Our daughter Jess and her lovely husband Mike got married in the Margaret Whitlam Pavilion, a beautiful venue built up high on the hills around the National Arboretum.
My apologies for using the above photo in my last post, however, it shows the height of the building and the views. This photo was taken a while ago and the trees around it have grown.
September is the beginning of our spring, and a festive time in Canberra. The biggest event is Floriade, a month long event in the Commonwealth Park, with huge garden beds exploding with colourful spring flowers. (the planning and planting for this festival goes on all year.) Tulip Tops is a smaller, but equally pretty display for spring, and the photo below shows some tulips called The American Dream.
Canberra is well known for its very cold winters (by Australian standards) and so we tend to celebrate spring as if we were in the Northern Hemisphere! We all long for warmth and sunshine by September, and even more so with a wedding coming up. Fortunately the stars were aligned and delivered a warm day with continual sunshine. The winds were blowing, but that was better than rain!
It was a lovely happy wedding with everyone in a festive mood. The gods were smiling on us. I hope to have some photos soon.
All good things must come to an end, and we enjoyed our time with family and friends. Our older daughter Rebecca lives in Melbourne and she and her family came to stay for a few extra days, which was an added bonus.
Needless to say, when everyone left, we missed the patter of little feet, and the early morning chatter of our grandchildren….not to mention our children and close relatives!
However, the weather was still warm and sunny and we decided to take a walk around Lake Burley Griffin. As Floriade was in full in swing we had to park near “Old Parliament House”.
Once we parked the car, we went to the gardens of Old Parliament House to see the lovely wisteria decorating some of the elegant buildings outside Old Parliament House (now known as the Museum of Australian Democracy.)
We were too late to see the white wisteria on the right hand side, and now looks as if it needs a trim.
Paul worked in Old Parliament House for a while and enjoyed the quiet elegance of the building and the gardens.
Beyond the gardens we found new statues of two important women in our history, both looking very elegant wearing their hats and holding their handbags. There was a plaque for both which told how much they had achieved…
Dame Dorothy Tangney (1907 – 1985) was elected to the Senate and was the first female member of the Labor Party to be elected to the Federal Parliament.
Dame Enid Lyons (1897-1981) was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives and the first female member to be appointed to Federal Cabinet. She married Joseph Lyons who became Prime Minister. She supported him greatly, and they had eleven children and the 12th child died in infancy. What tough lives they had!
We walked down to the lake, but unfortunately we had missed the white blossoms of the Manchurian Pear trees. Fortunately I had a photo from 2019 which showed the lovely blossoms and life before Covid!
We walked along the pathway and all the trees were looking very green and fresh. On the right there are Manchurian Pear trees and on the left there are Claret Ashes. Needless to say this avenue of trees looks glorious in the autumn.
Many thanks for spending some time to read my blog post, and may your gardens be flourishing regardless of the weather!
Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved
It does look lovely!
Yes, the flowers looked lovely, and they had some gentle classical music in the background.
Your daughter certainly picked a beautiful time of year to have a wedding and a family gathering. Congratulations to the new couple, and I hope all their dreams come true. Your header photo is stunning, and the Wisteria is breathtaking. Glad you had time with the grandchildren which is always a good thing. It is always interesting as you embrace spring, and I’m watching leaves fall and temperatures cool.
Thanks Judy. Both Jess and Mike looked so happy, it was lovely. I will pass on your good wishes. Re the change of seasons, yes, Jason always used to comment that I was getting tulips while leaves were falling from his trees! (in Chicago)
What a privilege it was to be able to be at Jessica and Mike’s wedding and get a real life look at your photo album, Geraldine! Note to Self – book in for the wisteria walk next time!
Yes, I thought you would like the wisteria, and quite a few other buildings and plants around there. Next time!
Congrats, congrats! What a beautiful place to be married. So glad to read that the weather gods were smiling on you that day. Always lonely when the family leaves. A spring walk was just the thing. I am trying to imagine what it must be like to give birth to 12 children. I don’t think my body could have taken it.
Thanks Laurie, and yes, imagine giving birth to 12 children, and then having the strength to lead a life in politics! They were hardy folk!
What a lovely setting for the wedding, especially in spring. I wasn’t going to plant any bulbs this year, but seeing your header photo, made me think I should put in some more tulips! Love the wisteria.
Thanks Brenda, I know what you mean, looking at gardens full of tulips and other bulbs always prod me into action!
I am glad that you got good weather for the wedding. The venue looks impressive. I liked the wisteria views even if you missed the white variety. I find that we always visit garden too early or too late!
The venue was well designed with great views.
Yes, it is very hard to get the timing right when visiting gardens.
Congratulations on the wedding, it looks like it was a gorgeous spring day!
Thanks Lyn, yes it was a wonderful sunny day.
What a lovely location for a wedding. So glad all went well, looking forward to photos. That wisteria is just gorgeous as are the tulips. I loved the statues of the ladies. Glad you got to enjoy your grands, goodness, they sure do like early mornings.xxx
Hi Dina, yes, we had fun with the grands but as you say, they are up and about very early! Lovely though. I’ll have a look at your blog tomorrow, and see what is new.
Love to see women celebrated in statues. And happy and striding into action too!
Yes, I agree, it is good to see women being acknowledged for their work. I hope all goes well in Cape Town, and that you are doing lots of hikes.
Congratulations to Jess and Mike. May they live happily ever after. What a lovely setting for a wedding. I love those statues and the very inviting bench. The Wisteria is gorgeous. I’m hoping to see some when we visit South Africa this month.
Thanks Sylvia, I’ll pass on congrats to Jess and Mike. They have just received the wedding photos, I hope I can post a few at some stage.