M Pavillion

Every October, since 2014, an M Pavilion is erected in the Queen Victoria Gardens to coincide with the Melbourne International Festival. 

Last October the fourth in the series appeared but I was unable to visit until the beginning of this month. Pearlie Shirley was on leave for a few days in early January and we met up for a chat and coffee at the M Pavilion.

I liked the idea of the greenery sweeping up the banks at the side, although after three months the vegetation was looking a little neglected and in need of watering and some attention. The interior seating layout limited me to sitting on the lower tier.  Swing seats were suspended from the upper structure and young girls were having the time of their lives, swinging wildly in every direction.

 On one side a caged area, surrounding the seating, provided a great play area for two toddlers who discovered that banging anything against the cage wire resulted in a very satisfying, very loud noise.

The usual coffee and snacks were available and we sat for a while, drinking our tea and coffee and looking about, discussing the pavilion and the people in it. Eventually the two toddlers won the day with their repetitive banging and we moved on to a quieter place.

  

Anyone interested in learning more about the M Pavilion and its benefactor can go this website and learn more.

Thank you Naomi Milgrom, for one more pavilion in the series.

I love them.

Garden of Evening Delight

Come on!!  Get up off the couch, you bone lazy lot; now the weather has cooled after the heat of the day we are going to walk across the bridge to the other side of the river and spend some time in the University Gardens.

We will take a short cut through the intersection where it is closed off for the tram works and walk across the bridge over the river, past the workmen who are finishing off the work on the new tram tracks and in no time at all  turn left into the University Gardens.

The gardens are towards the back of this area and were established in the mid-19^th century with the idea of introducing new plants to the colony and to promote botanical science.  What a brilliant idea!  All these many, many years later we have a lovely garden with magnificent trees and throughout the year, a variety of flowering shrubs and plants. 

Feel how cool it is here, compared to the streets with bitumen surfaces, without grass or shade trees to provide relief from the heat. Let's walk across the lawn and by the small pond.

This pond recognises Charles Luffman, 
first principal at the Royal Horticultural School.  Noted for his rearrangement of the gardens layout from the original geometric design to a more informal setting, he was also responsible for the introduction of  women students at the school.



At this time of the evening the flowers on the lily pads have folded up for the evening.

There is still a little daylight left. Let's walk over to the garden beds.

 Here we have a lovely display of yellow and gold flowers

And sitting just a little further along, a bunch of sea holly in muted shades of blue/green.

We will not be walking down this path, it leads to the Australian native section of the gardens and the light is now starting to fade. 

There was a lot of muttering and not just a few exclamations about this sign when we looked at it on the way in and this native section of the gardens is a place where snakes would really feel at home.  Even more importantly I am wearing sandals and I'll get gravel under the soles of my feet.  Not interested in this happening.

Let's turn for home.

The buildings near where we are walking are part of the Horticultural School area and as you can see all the building are surrounded by shrubs similar to the above two toned green variety. 

It's time to leave now.  All the light has left the sky and up there you can see the moon which will be taking over for the next few hours while the earth turns .

Keep to the roadway now, it is easier to see where you are walking.

Last one home has to wash the dishes after tea.  Did I hear some-one say 'Let's get pizza.'?

Evening diversion

My intention this evening was to take the tram home from the shopping centre but as I walked out the door to the car park at the back of the supermarket I changed my mind.   I fancied the idea of a walk through the park.

Since I was declared persona non grata at the community garden, I now rarely walk through the park.

At this time of the year, when most people are on holidays, it is a quiet walk.  No one is playing tennis at the tennis club; the only sign of activity is a construction site to one side of the tennis club with cyclone fencing surrounding a cleared area of ground, where two piles of topsoil are waiting to be spread.

The gravel walk, lined with drooping elms whose branches almost touch the ground, is a shaded, cool path for cyclists and pedestrians during the summer. No one else is using the path and the children’s playground is deserted. A lone ladies bicycle with a kiddy carrier is propped against a nearby seat; it has an air of abandonment about it. On the far side of the park, on a grassed area burnt dry by the recent hot days, a woman watches over her two dogs as they chase balls and generally play about.

On the far side of the footbridge, over the very unglamorous main drain, a rain garden has been established.  The work on this garden took months to complete and the result is a natural water purification plant; the water is stored in underground tanks and is used to water the park and the nearby sports oval.

At some later time maybe I will visit the rain garden again and you can have a closer look. I just know you will all be wildly excited about the prospect of learning more about the rain garden.

In the Park      February 2015 file photo

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