Blooming

Today was one of those perfect days that Perth puts on in early spring - blue-skied, warm and sunny. We went to see the Art in Bloom exhibition at the Art Gallery. This is a biennial event where various lucky locals get to interpret gallery artworks with flowers. There were some very clever displays, some making you see the original artwork in a whole new light.

I really love the Art Gallery of W.A. - the 1970s building (though not terribly inspiring from the outside) has stood up very well with the passing years, especially the winding staircase.

I love the familiarity of the gallery's collection, and they have great special exhibitions. The recent Patricia Piccinini show was brilliant (I went three times!) The landscaping outside the gallery is also a real pleasure. There's the wetland garden with its beautiful metal sculpture, and now there's the Urban Orchard - a fantastic idea! Today there was also a lily pond - it was grabbing everyone's attention.

It occurred to me as we were walking through Perth, that the city itself is starting to bloom a little. All the mess and disruption from the underground rail line and the Northbridge/railway station has started to settle down, and although there's a long way to go it's all starting to look very promising. I know that in many ways Perth lives up to its nickname of "Dullsville", but on days like today, you have to love it just a bit!

And finally, here's something that's blooming in my garden right now.



Although it had been chopped back to a fraction of its former self because of our deck/pergola, it's looking (and smelling) just wonderful.