On Saturday the 14th, after our breakfast gathering at Cullen’s, Irene and I went to the Botanical Gardens, while Kevin headed off to the beer festival. It was an overcast morning initially, but the sun broke through before long. We wandered as we pleased, stopping to look at whatever caught our attention. I was particularly taken with the Subantarctic Plant House, a small building which replicates the landscape and plants of McQuarrie Island; it has diorama-style paintings of sea and sky and birds on its walls, taped sounds of surging waves, winds, and bird calls fill the air, and both wet fog and stiff winds blow through from time to time. The herb garden, the cactus house, the Conservatorium bursting with orchids, hostas, gerbera, and ferns, gave way to the Japanese Garden, where we took our time following paths. We’d bought sandwiches at Cullen’s and ate them there, listening to the birds. (See below for a list of the birds we saw in the gardens.) After lunch we made our way to the Visitors Centre for ice cream and overheard someone asking about the large embroidery of the garden. A few years ago the Hobart Embroiderers’ Guild put together a series of embroidered panels of differing areas of the garden; it’s hanging in the volunteers’ cottage, but unless someone is there it’s kept locked to avoid any damage. Luckily Rebecca Round, a volunteer in the shop, offered to take the questioner over to see it and we asked to tag along. It’s a very lovely work! Then we went to the lily pond with its ducks, and the various Tasmanian, Australian, and New Zealand plant areas, before deciding it was time to head home. We’d spent almost a whole day drifting about with no particular goal, unhurried, soaking up the sun and the plants, a truly lovely time.
Bird list: European goldfinch, Blackbird, English sparrow, Collared dove, Black-faced cuckoo-shrike, Magpie, Masked lapwing, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Little wattlebird, Silver gull, Pacific black ducks (with young)
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