Whimsy warning…..read no further if you are a sensible soul.

‘Could we please go somewhere without  Des, Pauline?’  This  pathetic plea came from Milly, who lives in the shade of her famous boyfriend, Editor Des. ‘Well of course we can Darling’, I said. I decided she might enjoy a walk to Campbell Rhododendron Gardens in our  Blue Mountains village of Blackheath.

Pauline Conolly and Milly
Set to go

Off we went, up our lane and into Inconstant Street. We both  always giggle about that name. It has connotations of incontinence and unfaithfulness. Apologies if you live there.

The are  some gorgeous gardens in the street. Milly loved these giant poppies.

Poppies


And look at this enormous white wisteria;

White wisteria


Milly  was captivated by the snowball tree. She wanted to pick some, but I told her they would melt. šŸ˜Ž

The snowball tree
Snowballs in spring.

We turned right into Bacchante Street, and into the garden. Only a gold coin donation required from each of us.

Milly in the azaleas
Pink on pink

I thought we would have tea and scones first, except Milly couldn’t resist leaping into a blooming azalea bush. It matched her dress. We ordered Devonshire Tea, although to my amusement the volunteer catering ladies called it Australian Afternoon Tea. I think the idea was to prevent international tourists being confused.

Afternoon tea
Let’s have tea

Oh the glory of the gardens. They were amazing; spectacular azaleas set among the gum trees. Here are just a few;

Azaleas
Brilliant scarlet!

From that fiery red to a glade of ice cool white;

Eucalypts and azaleas
Glorious sight around the old eucalypt trunks.

What a sweet little winding path;

And here is what it led to…golden treasure!

Yellow Azaleas

Goodness me, almost forgot the heroes of the garden, the rhododendrons. Milly and I agreed that the variety pictured below was our special favourite, oh that soft apricot. I think we must buy one for our own garden.

Apricot rhododendron
What a special  rhodo.

This one is called Countess of Normanton.

We were feeling a bit hot and thirsty on the way home. Milly was plodding ahead when she spotted a convenient tap. It was a bit high for her to reach  (well she is quite short) so she climbed up. Oh dear… it was  hard to turn on, too. Never one to give up, she gave  it a big shove with her boot….Voila!

Milly at the tap.
Success!

On we went. Sometimes there were dear little secret tracks instead of  footpaths;


Milly took great pleasure in telling Editor Des all about her day. He tried to look unimpressed, but we could see he was rather envious.  Milly  just smiled quietly to herself, remembering her scone with jam and cream.

Milly enjoys a scone with jam
Editor Des and Milly.
Des listening to Milly’s account of her day. He does looks a bit miffed!

Des had been doing his own thing while we were away. šŸ˜…

Sadly, the tearoom is closed at the moment due to Covid, but locals can still enjoy the gardens. šŸ˜Ŗ

FOR MORE ON THE CAMPBELL GARDENS CLICK HERE.

2 Comments
  1. Beautiful Blackheath!Another delightfulblog Pauline! Photos are top draw as usual.

    • Pauline

      Thanks Lyn. Delighted that you are able to leave comments with less trouble.

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