Walking around Artarmon, north Sydney
Garden flowers in Artarmon, Sydney
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
While we were staying with our son and daughter-in-law in Sydney we did quite a deal of walking around the nearby suburbs. This seemed easier than driving in an area that is not all that familiar to us. Walking is good for our health too, and this holiday was an opportunity to get out walking on a regular basis.
Garden flowers in Artarmon, Sydney
While in Artarmon for ten days we walked into Chatswood several times. This is about a twenty minute stroll from our son’s home. Everywhere we walked we took great delight in looking into people’s gardens. We delight in this activity wherever we go. It is very cheap entertainment and the exercise is good for our health.
Garden flowers in Artarmon, Sydney
Around Artarmon we were constantly amazed at what people had growing in their gardens. Many of the plants we saw would be very hard, if not impossible, to grow in the much harsher conditions at home here in Murray Bridge in South Australia.
Garden flowers in Artarmon, Sydney
We even struck up a conversation with several people, and one kind gentleman gave my wife some orchid flowers.
More photos of flowers can be seen in my photo gallery (click here).
A special resident
Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard
My son and daughter-in-law live in a lovely part of Sydney, the northern suburb of Artarmon. They have an interesting array of birds that visit their garden and the surrounding district. They also have some other resident animals.
The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard shown in the photo above is a long-term resident of their garden. It is often seen basking in the sun near the front steps of their home. When approached it will scuttle under the bottom step where there is a gap large enough to hide. Not that we are a threat to its survival but I wouldn’t be so sure about all the Laughing Kookaburras that frequent the area.
For more information about Blue-tongue lizards click here.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, St Ives, Sydney
No Comments »1st October, 2007; Category: Birds, Botanic Gardens, New South Wales, Parks and Gardens
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
One of the places we wanted to revisit during our stay in Sydney was the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens. These gardens are in St Ives, in the northern parts of Sydney. They abut the Ku-ring-gai National Park, another great place to visit for the wildflowers, birds, bushwalking and picnics.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
On arrival we had a picnic lunch in the grounds of the gardens near the Visitor Centre. Two Laughing Kookaburras kept a close eye on our lunch, we kept a close eye on them. We didn’t share any with them. The bird watching was a little slow during our visit but I did see a few good species. I have good memories of a visit seven years ago.
Laughing Kookaburras
After looking at the displays in the Visitor Centre we spent several hours wandering the various paths around the gardens. Many of the paths are paved roads making the walking easy. There are many other dirt tracks linking the paved roads and these take a little more care. Some sections are a little steep but most reasonably fit walkers would negotiate them with ease.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
While there were quite a few plants in flower for us to admire and photograph, it was a little disappointing. We estimated that we were about three to five weeks too early for the main spring flowering time. Despite this, we still enjoyed our time there. In fact we spent so much time in the gardens we ran out of time to visit the nearby national park. We will leave that for our next visit.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney