A very resilient goose

One of the ancient fables is of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.  In the case of the ACT Government the eggs laid by the Floriade Festival have indeed been golden given the number of tourists it brings in.

The first attempt to get more gold, by charging entry fees, did not quite kill the event off.

Plans for a second attempt - moving the Festival from Commonwealth Park to various locations strewn around the CBD - appear to have come to nothing so far.  This is possibly because the ACT Government doesn't want too many people coming to Glebe Park (one of the proposed sites) as this might cause people to start questioning various property deals affecting the margins of the park.

Judging by this year they have decided that the best approach to kill the event off is to minimise the involvement of those inconvenient flower beds and maximising the number of tacky tents offering gardening experiences.

We visited on the first day of a long weekend (and following a big plug for the event on the ABC Gardening Australia program the night before).  As I walked in it was apparent that there were plenty of punters around.  Needless to say the traffic was chaotic, despite (dare I say because of?) the presence of highly trained and alert traffic controllers.

 Having met up with Frances, Ingrid and the Small People we wandered through the area.  I thought this kale head was a good metaphor for either ACT Government or the National Capital Authority or, given the need for added efficiency of multi-tasking, both of the above.

SP1 was attracted by this small gnome in another set of used rubberware.

The sculptures were interesting.  Possibly those in old oil drums which appear to resemble leafless trees are a try-out for a plant-free Floriade.  (In that regard, a bit later we did have an interesting conversation with a guy delivering 62,000 fabric poppies to the War Memorial, ready for the centenary of the Armistice in November.  Not that I want start a conspiracy theory or anything.)

 A few flowers and a portion of the crowd.  Note that the jumping castle in the background requires an entry fee.

There has always been a commercial area flogging various things tenuously linked to gardening and/or food-experiences.  This year that has expanded throughout the site.  The gardening links are very tenuous in some cases - until you realise that bullshit is good fertilser!

This lotus blossom was quite interesting,  especially once it started buzzing, and headed out across the pool.  It seems to have a small electric moor in the base - presumably its motion is limited by an extension cord.

 A few more flowers!

 I took this photo to record the prices charged for ice creams: about $1 more than offered by vendors such as service stations outside the event.  Here comes ABBA again!

 A view was expressed that these were ACT bluebells (Wahlenbergia gloriosa).  Alas no: they are an exotic bulb doing an invasive number!

 I could see some sense in these signs in mid Winter.  However they are now just a reminder that the National Capital Authority can't be bothered picking up after themselves.

 If they collected their signs in a timely manner it would do more for the state of Commonwealth Park than their continued refusal to allow the garden beds to be a permanent feature of the Park.  Which might limit the ACT Governments moves to reduce the beds in favour of stalls.

The one good thing the Commonwealth does for the area is running the Cook Water Jet.