Spring flowers at Tulip Top Garden and flooding in Victoria

After a long and isolated two years of Covid, everyone I know is cautiously enjoying a normal life again. However, another hurdle for some states in Australia is the excessive rain we have had this year, and in the last three years.

Every year Canberra has a spring festival called Floriade in September to October. (except for the last two Covid years.)

I wondered if the rain would ever stop long enough for all the bulbs to grow, and the potted flower displays to survive.

Unfortunately Paul and I missed Floriade, but we visited another wonderful flower display, on the outskirts of Canberra called Tulip Top Garden.

The weather was warm, bright and sunny! Oh the joy of it all…

It seemed hard to believe, but for a week or two in early spring we had sunny days and no rain!

We arrived very early and avoided some of the crowds.

As I have often mentioned, Paul and I frequently drive to Melbourne to visit our daughter and the family. In September we planned a trip to Victoria to see them.

The drive from Canberra to Melbourne takes about 8 hours, so we always plan a few stops along the way. Our first coffee break is usually at a Victorian country town called Benalla.

The Art Gallery and café have table and chairs on the deck, to sit and look over the lake. On warm mornings, it is a wonderful spot for coffee, and sometimes scones and cream.

Wrapped around the Art Gallery is a lovely park, and during Covid we sat in the park with our flask of coffee and a sandwich and enjoyed the greenery.

Benalla is the kind of town where the cars wait for a Draught wagon with patience.

One summer as we parked the car near the Gallery and we saw a lovely old fashioned horse drawn draught wagon. The wagon was advertising beer, but the handsome looking Clydesdales stole the show.

We made our trip to Melbourne, and it rained all the way. It was lovely to see our family, and we were able to do all the things we planned, but as the week went by, the rain continued and there was some flooding in Melbourne’s lower lying suburbs.

With so much rain in Victoria last year, all the catchments were completely soaked. Rivers were flooding and lower lying country towns around Victoria began to flood. Many of the farms around these areas lost all their spring crops.

We delayed our trip home, and fortunately the highway re-opened at the end of the weekend. We were able to drive home, but we could not stop at either of our favourite towns, Benalla and our lunchtime stop, Seymour. This is another friendly Victorian town, where the café menus are varied and the food is delicious.

Still smiling: Owners Ray & Freya Grant cleaning up Café 96 Seymour. Photo by Wayne Herring.
Seymour Rotary along with other services, organisations, volunteering at the emergency relief centre. Food is cooked for all who had to evacuate.

This is an aerial photo of Seymour before the flooding, and after ..

An aerial view of Seymour’s oval and surrounds before the floods
An aerial view of Seymour after the floods. Photos by Near Map.

I must add that many parts of New South Wales and Queensland have suffered severe floods during 2022 and all the states affected are struggling to get back to normal.

photo by Jason Edwards (Sun Herald)

Best wishes to all the families who are experiencing flooding this year, and especially to those having to evacuate their homes.

During a few short weeks we went from Tulip Top gardens to serious flooding…. Australia’s weather is either a feast or a famine, and add that to climate change!

Thank you for taking the time to read my post today and may your weather be settled where ever you are in the world.!

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved.

18 Replies to “Spring flowers at Tulip Top Garden and flooding in Victoria”

  1. I will remember your recommendations for stopping places next time we go to Melbourne and also the wonderful tulip garden in Canberra.
    The floods are devastating and not over yet. We have had more than enough rain here and our river is roaring through the town. It has been over its banks a couple of times, but no serious damage, so we are lucky.

    1. I’m sorry to hear about that Jane, I hadn’t realised Mudgee was affected too. Our poor garden is battered down from another heavy fall last night. I think you would really enjoy stopping off at Benella’s Art gallery, as well as the good coffee, cake and views, the Gallery very often has interesting exhibitions.

  2. All that rain must be very depressing, we read about it in our papers here. I hope your lovely garden isn’t too badly affected. Thanks for all the pictures.

    1. Yes, the constant rain is very depressing, and as this is spring, we are usually in the garden at this time of the year.

  3. The tulip displays are beautiful, and I thank you for the smile. The floods, well, although after droughts we all appreciate moisture we do not do well with floods. It’s interesting how it seems we have extremes these days in a lot of areas. Glad you had a good family visit.

    1. Yes, I agree Judy, so many extremes of weather all over the world. In Canberra we usually have low rainfall all year, so we are used to semi-drought conditions, and spend our time waiting for rain! Not this year!

    1. Yes, the extremes of weather are worrying, and flooding is unusual for us. However, Canberra did manage to have all its spring flower festivals (over two weeks) without any heavy rain. Thanks for reading my post, and commenting. I often read your blog and enjoy it every much.

  4. Oh, my gosh! Too much rain is no good. Dad to think of those crops being wiped out. Those ariel photos really tell the story. Glad those beautiful flowers got to bloom before the rain came.

    1. Yes, I agree Laurie, too much rain is no good, and it is sad to lose crops and potentially a livelihood. However, everything is clearer today, and the birds are singing!

  5. The tulips are magnificent. So sorry about all your rain. hope it clears soon. It’s not good to have too many soggy days. The volunteers are to be commended. People must be so grateful for their selfless service.
    We could do with a bit more rain. We’ve just planted seedlings and we have to go out and water every day.

    1. Yes, the tulips looked gorgeous that weekend. We are finally getting a bit of sunshine today! Sorry to read you need rain. Everything is upside down! Thanks for the comment, and best wishes.

  6. Sorry to hear of the floods, how awful for all those involved. Here’s to the rain stopping. I loved the wonderful spring displays and the horse drawn carriage is just charming. Glad you got to see your family.xxc

    1. Thanks Dina, yes I thought those Clydesdales looked gorgeous. I’ll check your blog for a recent post, as I don’t get email alerts as frequently these days…no dramas though. Best wishes.

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