Goodbye, Winter!

As I begin to type this final Winter Wednesday post for 2011, Winter has exactly 58 minutes left in South Australia. Woo! Winter Wednesdays were started by Hazel as a sort of support group for people to help them find something positive about Winter each week. Last week, Hazel confessed that she herself doesn't like Winter much, and so she's not posting anything for the last one, but I'll do one anyway to say thank you, Hazel! I still can't say that I enjoyed Winter, as such, but I tried to find something good every week and each Wednesday did seem to roll around each week awfully quickly and Winter flew past, in the end.

The other day, on a whim, SP and I went to the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens. I had totally forgotten about the magnolias, but as we drove around the curves to the car park I saw something quite amazing out of the window. I totally forgot that I'd meant to show SP the ducks, and we went looking at the flowers instead.


SP launched in with that special kind of determination toddlers have, which is how we found that the entire area under those wonderful red bushes is basically a swamp. Not just muddy, but gooey, stinky, and with a scum layer of algae growing over the top. Perfect for SP, not so great for Mama when she sinks in up to her ankles trying to get the toddler out before she is covered from head to toe.


But the magnolias, oh my Gods, the magnolias! Never in my life have I seen a display such as this. Thousands up thousands upon thousands of the lovely things. Gobsmacked, really, mud and all.

From buds...



To blooms...



Is there any flower more beautiful? More luminous? And they come in Winter, as it gives it's dying gasp, flings its arms wide and surrenders to Spring.

If you're in Adelaide, or nearby, I highly recommend you come up to the Gardens and have a look, and soon! Before they're all gone. Otherwise you'll have to wait a whole other year before this comes again.

Happy Spring xx