It was only about an hour and a half drive to Toowoomba from Brisbane.  Toowoomba (nicknamed The Garden City) is a city in the Darling Downs region of Queensland about 125 k’s west from Brisbane by road. The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Mountain range.

Annually this garden city puts on a spectacular garden show called the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.  Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a cultural party featuring a floral parade, local food and produce, regional wine, entertainment and all things spring.  Toowoomba is a beautiful city all year round but especially during Carnival of Flowers.

 

Our first stop was at the top of the range at picnic point where we stopped for morning tea. The views from picnic point looking east are outstanding.

From Picnic point we drove to Laurel Bank park. All the gardens around Toowoomba are beautiful in September for Carnival of Flowers, but Laurel Bank Park is one of my favourites, and is a must see. We always make sure that we go up the viewing platform for the best photos and to really see the theme of the gardens each year.

 

 

We wandered throughout the magnificent gardens taking in the diverse array of flowers, colour and design.

 

The beds were covered with mixtures of flowers that provided colour, levels and designs with each being unique in their own way.
The wisteria arch was covered with flowers and the scent within the tunnel was amazing.

The gardens are offset by the range of topiary items scattered throughout the park.

All the parks and gardens around the area are spectacular and the resident’s gardens are just as good. We visited 3 of the private winning gardens which were fabulous. It was just astounding to  see  the amount of effort put into these gardens and an absolute pleasure to meet some of their creators.

 

 

 

Toowoomba shines in September. The generosity of the home gardeners to open their gates and share their gardening secrets to the world is wonderful. The impressive public parks and gardens make for a complete picture of spring. The colours of spring bring the city to life with a sense of community seeing visitors from all nations share picnics and fun in the parks and gardens. A Big thank you to the gardeners of the Garden City in Spring.