Finally, we took a drive around the park. It was really quite extensive. When we climbed up the hill we had a great view to the Blue Mountains and the city. We were surprised to find that the suburban crawl was just below. Seems like the land that makes up the gardens were saved at just the right moment.
We visited the Callistemon (bottlebrush) garden. There were quite a few varieties. Unfortunately the flowers were also very difficult to photograph in the midday sun. I only managed to get decent photos of these very different coloured bottlebrushes.
However, I will supplement it with other Callistemon-like photos I have taken.
Let’s have a mini banksia festival!
Some middle-aged and ancient banksias.
Some new, mature, and old banksias.
A variegated orange and white banksia.
A variegated orange and red banksia.
And lastly, a whole bush-full of banksia flowers. Spectacular!
Mount Annan had an extensive native rock garden. I like the variety of shapes and colours that the flowers come in.
Close up, its leaves are like a palm.
But it’s the trunk that’s interesting – it’s full of intimidating spikes.
We got a close up of larger specimen that was fruiting. See how the cones form just at the tips?
The crowning glories of the garden is its collection of Wollemi Pines. It’s a fascinating and unique plant. They have many plants, all differing in age.
This one is a baby.
I have never seen these peas before, but they are delicate and pretty.
There were plants from all over Australia, some very strange-looking. This one looks kind of like a bottle-brush, but not.
We entered the garden and were surrounded by giant ferns. It’s easy to imagine dinosaurs roaming through this landscape.
Static and Silence 