Fiona's Floral Frolic

19 November 2014 / Words: Bryan Shedden, Photos: Fiona Shedden

Those who know my wife Fiona will be very well aware that she has green thumbs and a passion for garden design. With this in mind, Fiona ordered a slot in the Illawarra Chapter calendar for a visit to the Australian Botanic Gardens at Mt Annan, where she could share her passion with other MX-5ers. Established in 1988 on former farmland, the Garden showcases Australian flora amongst rolling hills and lakes in Sydney’s suburban south-west. That’s the botanical bit sorted – as for planning and leading the drive there, "you can do that" I was told. OK boss.

We weren’t too sure if club members would be interested in this sort of event, so Fiona and I were pleasantly relieved when 18 people in nine MX-5s arrived for the start at Haywards Bay on 9 Nov 2014. The group included visitors Carol & Graeme from Mangerton who were keen to sample a club run. They joined the club a few days later – welcome aboard!

Claiming a good spot at the Garden demands a reasonably early arrival, so I designed a short but sweet drive. We crossed the verdant dairy paddocks behind Albion Park, climbed through the ancient rainforest of Macquarie Pass, and turned onto the stunning sclerophyll forested Tourist Road. We skirted around Mittagong via Range Road, Old South Road and Old Hume Highway, before jumping onto the Freeway for a quick blast to Mt Annan.

As we meandered our way to our picnic spot at the southern end of the Botanic Garden, Fiona enforced a bit of exercise with a short walk to the top of a hill. There we discovered a thing called The Sundial of Human Involvement – basically an arrangement of stones set out as hour markers, and your body casts a shadow that allows you to tell the time. No, we were not diving into the ground!

Back to the cars and we found several Macarthur Mob MX-5s and an RPM ring-in had joined us, swelling our number to 27 people. Fiona gave us a botanical commentary over the CBs as we slowly drove to our picnic spot. Then out came the picnic rugs, fold-up chairs and hampers as we sprawled ourselves on the shaded grass for lunch. Plenty of friendly conversations and mingling ensured a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable afternoon.

After lunch, most of us returned to the visitor centre where Fiona led a short walking tour of the Connections Garden. It’s a stunning display and the variety of flora on display is truly amazing. Jan said it best: "We definitely have a beautiful part of the world. Great spot for our picnic lunch and as always great company."

Click here to see all of Fiona's photos.