The first breaths of September transform Australia’s frosty mountains, gnarled saplings and even desert plains into kaleidoscopes of brilliant colour. Join the celebration of our nation’s unrivalled biodiversity, and feast your eyes on the blossoming beauty of Australian springtime at these must-visit flower destinations and festivals.
FLORIADE, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
The crowd-pulling festival Floriade is more than a flower show; widely recognised as Australia’s premier spring festival, it is a Canberran cultural institution and rite of passage for flower lovers from all walks of life.
More than one million bulbs are planted in artful arrangements across 8000 square metres of Canberra’s inner- city parkland, and as August spills into September, they blanket it with row upon row of radiant blooms.
The beauty of Floriade is that it is ever-growing (no pun intended!) and outdoes itself year after year. The event features a diverse program of live music, gardening workshops, market stalls, art exhibitions, family entertainment and cultural celebrations – including a stellar line-up of wine, cheese and other artisanal nibbles on offer, set against the nest spring views in Australia.
As night falls, jump on the onsite Ferris wheel to observe the magic of NightFest, when a rainbow light show illuminates the carpet of flowers below. This year marks the iconic festival’s 30th birthday, and you can expect Canberra to meet the occasion with all the oral pageantry such a milestone deserves.
KINGS PARK FESTIVAL, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
In Western Australia, spring is synonymous with wildflower season. Every September, colourful blossoms erupt from the soils of the very driest, reddest and unlikeliest pockets across the state, from the outback Wheatbelt to the glittering Fitzgerald Coast.
Western Australia is home to more than 12,000 species of wild ower (60 per cent of which can’t be found anywhere else on Earth!), and there’s no better place to get acquainted with this oral magic than at the Western Australian Botanic Garden, in Perth’s very own Kings Park.
Each year, the Kings Park Festival – also known as the Wild ower Festival – welcomes the wild ower season all September long.
Free guided tours, exhibitions, live music performances, scienti c talks, and other family activities take place among the sea of iconic wild owers – which include fairy orchids, qualup bells, pink everlastings and the elusive black kangaroo paw.
TONDOON BOTANIC GARDENS, QUEENSLAND
In subtropical Central Queensland, spring is a window of pleasant, mild and sun-drenched days before the region’s scorching, muggy summer fully takes hold – and nowhere in the state does tropical spring quite like the Tondoon Botanic Gardens, nestled snugly in the foothills of Mount Biondello.
Tondoon is a haven of tropical, subtropical and dry rainforest ora, where the only sound is nature’s chorus and dappled sunlight lters atmospherically through dense canopies overhead.
The grounds have been thoughtfully designed to showcase Queensland’s eclectic ora and fauna, and to instil in visitors a sense of serenity, relaxation and inspiration. The vast gardens are home to unique wildlife; as you lounge by the lake, you’re more than likely to encounter resident freshwater turtles and spectacular local birdlife.
It’s little wonder that the gardens attract more than 100,000 visitors annually: Tondoon is a dreamy destination for family picnics, leisurely rambles, and cultural and community celebrations, with its own onsite café, playground, barbecues, art gallery, and even a traditional-style Japanese teahouse.
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