Mount Tomah Botanic Garden

October 2011

It is a grey day today.  Never a bad thing, as it means lovely even light in which to photograph the beauty around me.  The Garden is alive with colour, great swathes of it lining paths and meadows.  It is the detail that captures my attention today, the richness and texture of the blooming around me.

Rhodendrons in the most striking colours, proteas, daisies, roses - all vivid against the cool silvery backdrop of this changeable day.  I run into Rob Smith, the director of the Garden, who is pondering what to write about in his own blog. (Rob's blog posts are listed in the sidebar under tomahplanttalk). So much beauty to choose from!

This heavy headed magnolia seemed to resting on the leaf.

Cloud rolls into the valley below.

An hour's stroll.  A mind and heart refreshed by cool air and vivid colour. The mist came and then the rain, just as I was leaving.

July 2011

The last of the camellias are blooming on this many hints of Spring day and the roses are pruned and some are showing off tiny new growth.

Whilst bare branches are still winter twisted and tiny gnomes gaze cheekily at you as you walk around the Garden, the noise of the wrens and the scent of jonquils reminds you that Spring is not far away.  This is a particularly pleasant thought, given the especial coldness of this Winter and the massive winds that have buffeted the mountains recently. 

By the end of August this meadow will be awash with yellow and white flowers - an incredibly beautiful spectacle.

The daphne is just opening - it's wonderful scent still trapped within its young flowers.

The winter rose is blooming throughout the Garden.

Even in Winter there are exceptional bursts of colour - if you choose to look for them.

May

It has been some months since I have been to the Garden, my chief excuse being that each time I thought I would go, the rain would determine otherwise.

Today though was one of those mountains days which hovers between the rich colours of autumn and the sculptural chill of winter.  I wandered the paths, led along many of them by a cheeky Eastern Yellow Robin, which ensured that I truly felt like Mary in the Secret Garden! I would not have been surprised to hear the faint, cheery whistle of a young Dicon working somewhere in the woods.

Many of the trees are coming to the end of their gorgeous show of autumnal colour - indeed some trees are completely bare.  This though means that wonderful shadows are cast by the trees and the beauty of their branches and tree trunks are revealed.

I must admit to thinking that this might be my very favourite time of the year in the Garden.

Until Spring comes along ...

hello favourite tree...

January

Mount Tomah on a summer's day.  I am struck by the invigorating scent of eucalypt and pine as soon as I step out of the car.

 

I have seen the garden during several summers of drought so to see the garden over run with green - the grass and leaves vividly green and lush is almost shocking.

Even in the heat of the day there are dozens and dozens of trees spilling shade - and paths which wind through green shadows and cool breezes which are welcome.

Is there a more beautifully named garden than "The Laughing Children's Garden?"

Favourite tree's white trunk and branches spread wonderful shade.

I listen to the wrens and magpies and blackbirds singing.

I smell the deeply pink roses.

I look out at the blue blue mountains.

The garden is intensely alive on a day like today.

And in amongst the green, the first tentative flush of golden red.  

November

It is late Spring in the Garden and the day is glorious - sunny and blue with a light, cooling breeze.  We walk by a different route today, going on the Plant Explorers Walk. I have missed the blue bells but am in luck with magnolias and rhododendrons.  The path has been freshly laid with bark chips and the scent along it is both fresh and exotic.

The Brunet Meadow has returned to verdant green, no longer dotted with thousands of sunny daffodils. The rockeries however are awash with colour and the bees are working busily and noisily amongst the flowers.

 

One of my very favourite things about this Garden is the number of places where you can sit quietly and rest your eyes on beauty. Whether it be on green grass or lichen bejewelled wooden seats, there are places for relaxation and respite to suit everyone.

September

On this perfect Spring day I begin my walk by talking to two couples who are enjoying a picnic in the Garden.    

Other picnic tables are being set for lunch but as I continue walking other people have set up picnics in quiet grassy spots, looking out over the mountains.

The Garden is looking amazing.  Not all the trees are in full leaf yet and so it is possible to admire the spring blossom and bulbs, the beautiful underplantings, without distraction. The air is intoxicating, fizzing with the scent of freshly mown grass and the perfume of blossom. Whip birds, magpies and kookaburras sing and the lazy hum of the bees is a constant backdrop to my walk.

 

A blue sky arches overhead, blue as the bottle tops the bower bird collects. Clouds drift white and silent. 

 

 

The colours of Spring are echoed in the flower pot man.

 






 

Delicate spring greenery has touched the branches of the trees and bushes, including of course the branches of my favourite tree.

 
 
 

The Garden has always had the ability to soothe away the stresses of daily life.  It has done that for me today one hundred fold.

                      

Mid August - A quick visit!

 

I knew the daffodils would be out.  I had to see them! Unfortunately a violently car sick daughter meant that the visit today was a necessarily quick one .

Still I had time to admire the drifts of daffodils across the meadow and clumped prettily under bare trees.

 

Other plants sweetly turn their nearly spring time faces to the sun.

I briefly greet my favourite tree and promise it silently that I will be back very soon, to see more closely how it too will greet the new season which will be with us in a few short weeks.

 

        
 

 

July

 

It is school holidays and my daughter and I honour our holiday ritual of spending some time at Mount Tomah to do a treasure hunt through the Garden.

 

 

These treasure hunts, which are changed regularly, allow my children to race ahead of me, looking for clues, following arrows which point us in the right direction for the next clue and time to read the jokes which are posted along the way.  The kids adore the regular references to "poo" and are entranced by learning that a wombat does.. well I won't give the game away but the shape of a wombat's poo is interesting to say the least!

 

 

The treasure hunt allows adults to follow behind in a more leisurely fashion.  In this way, despite the winter cold and bare branches, it is possible to admire the tiny blooming plants along the curving paths.  In the depths of winter those same bare branches reveal that they are already, in fact,  

adorned with spring buds.

This time, not only can I say hello to my favourite tree

I can also admire its beautiful bark close up

 

and day dream of a picnic underneath it in the warmer months. The kind of picnic that Mole and Rat would approve of - with fresh sandwiches, crisp apples and cool drinks. Perhaps a chocolate biscuit or two! 

We take time to admire the view from the deck above the new World Heritage Centre

and instead of a picnic we indulge in lunch on the verandah of the restaurant.

Driving home we sing songs from the "Sound of Music" at the top of our voices. We realise that along with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens a day at Mount Tomah is essential in our list of favourite things.

Please visit the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden website...

Early June

 

If you are going to visit the Garden on a winter's day, it may as well be one where the mist is slipping and sliding around and over the escarpments and the trees are dripping wet.

 

Because the cold and the damp do not deter the magpies from singing.  Nor are the tiny wrens put off their swooping, darting games.  

 

The cold and damp accentuate the twist and curve of the branches of the standard weeping mulberry.

 

   

It gloriously intensifies the piney smell of the woodland areas.  The sound of the steady drip of clear water onto fallen leaves.

    

Plant colours glow in the grey air.

  

It means that the clean crisp air of the mountains has an extra clarity and that you will want to breathe great lungfuls of it in as you wander on paths you may not have walked before.

 

Winter's cold and the damp mist add a touch of magic to the Garden's landscape.

Mid May

When you visit Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, it is wise to make a conscious effort to slow your steps. 

This is because when you slow your steps not only can you admire the monkey puzzle tree

 but also its intricate shadow

 

You can say a proper hello to your favourite tree

Enjoy a conifer tree with its own magnificent Christmas  decorations

   

Find a rock climbing shrub which sings of Autumn

 

Then turn around and gasp at the flames behind you

   

You can wonder at a tree of living Menorah

   

And reflect that this combination of lime green and purple blue is most extraordinary

   

You will happen upon the very last hydrangea flowers

   

Or find an exquisite spray of gum blossom

   

Admire a butterfly...

 

Or remind yourself

 

That when you return you might just sit quietly for a while with your camera and the right zoom lens to capture the tiny birds with their blue blue heads!

And then, still in this contemplative mood, you might drive home more slowly than usual, and be astonished as a magnificent dingo saunters across the road in front of your car.

Please visit the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden website