A flower a day for September #12.Queens Park Pt. 2

Not hard to tell that the Poppy is right up there as one of my favorite Spring/September flowers.

The photos show some of the marvelous work the local council Parks and Garden workers do.


It's also less than a week to go until the start of our week long annual Carnival of Flowers festival. You can find out all you need to know about the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers on the tcof web site.

Queens Park - Toowoomba        

Queens Park is a picturesque park, just a short walk from Toowoomba's Central Business District. The park's uses are diverse and facilities make it a great meeting place or a pleasant stop.

The north-eastern part of the park boasts an immaculately tended floral garden. While it's meticulously tended all year round, park displays are particularly impressive during Spring and September especially.

The south-eastern and north-western corners provide large expanses of grass for sports, with the addition of a special swing for disabled children's enjoyment. The south section of the park features modern children's play equipment. Throughout the park, sealed walking tracks and a bicycle track wind through the giant shady trees.

The park is also a focus for many community activities. The sweeping expanse of grassed area near the corner of Hume and Margaret Streets makes an ideal venue for events, including monthly markets on Sunday, the Carnival of Flowers parade and side-show alley in September and the Gospel Music Festival at Easter.

Queen's Park (26.3 ha), formerly a Crown Reserve, was handed over to the control of the Toowoomba Council in 1865. At about this time the services of Walter Hill, government botanist and superintendent of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, were being made readily available to councils and others who wished to establish parks and gardens.

Mr Hill was brought to Toowoomba and, as well as designing and planning the development of Queen's Park, he advised the council on street tree-planting and supervised much of the work. Many of the trees planted in Queen's Park were imported by him from Europe, Asia, and many other parts of the world. Hill Street was named in his honour.

Carl Hartmann, a botanist from Germany, and George Searle, a local landscape gardener, also made big contributions to Toowoomba's Garden City reputation.The work of the early planners has provided Toowoomba with a magnificent oasis close to the heart of the city. In 1875 young trees were planted out along broad avenues throughout the park.

Today the grand old trees resulting from that far-seeing design, line shaded avenues where visitors can stroll at leisure. Careful tending of the mature trees, and expert replacement where necessary, ensures that Queen's Park maintains its leafy charm.

Cheers and lovin' them poppies

Stewart