It's a public holiday in the old Wellington provincial area here today- and though I usually think it's a crazy time for such a 'day off' when school holidays are still 'on', it was great to wake up to sunshine, after a weekend of grey skies and rain.
I decided that a relaxed wander in the Esplanade was what the morning called for, and it's a place that always has new pockets of beauty to catch your eye. I first walked next to the bush along the river track, and this was the first piece of the flower gardens I came to, with the hydrangeas in dappled light under trees.
The gardeners at the Esplanade have every right to be proud of what they do: this is just one of the beautiful colourful gardens dotted around. It was great to see some many people wandering through as families, looking relaxed.
There are a few 'crinkum crankum' trees in the Esplanade, and the branches on this one were reflecting the sunlight in an eye-catching kind of way.
First time for ages, I also took a wander in the rose gardens, and there were lots of 'raindrops on roses' left over from last night- seemed to suit the 'favourite things' kind of morning.
I can never get quite enough of raindrops on roses....
...but they weren't restricted to just the roses....
In summertime they have many varieties of dahlia in the Esplanade, coming in all sorts of colours and shapes. The monarch butterflies seem to especially like the orangey-red ones, but I like all of them...
I finished my walk back along part of the river path... passing many others out walking and relaxing.
The gardens look wonderful. Hydrangeas are one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteThe gardens are wonderful. Good gardeners are some of those 'invisible' people who can bring so much joy.
DeleteAhh a breathe of fresh air to the icy frozen north!
ReplyDeleteAs I look out in my tiny back yard full of snow and ice, these photos allow me to dream.
ReplyDeleteMichèle
We are actually moaning here in our part of the world that summer hasn't really arrived yet- apart from a week around Christmas. I imagine that as soon as the kids go back to school in a week's time, it will start to be hot and sunny every day!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful flowers, especially the roses. You know I mentioned on my post that I went to some destinations for some special reasons – to Portland, Oregon, to view the roses. The other place that was mentioned so often in our Rose Society meetings was New Zealand. They told us that the weather there was perfect for their growth. This is one of the reasons I have always wanted to visit New Zealand. I have again many flyer miles so maybe I could arrange a trip for next year, who knows…
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about roses and New Zealand... We do have many beautiful ones in my city, so I guess the climate here suits them. They actually have some 'trial grounds' for new roses in the gardens at the Esplanade. You'd have to come here in our summer, and escape your winter...
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