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Escaping the winter blues - Europe, here I come!

© Lynda Jardinet

April 15:

It is now just over 12 hours until I bid my garden farewell and step onto a plane on my way to drool over some of the best gardens in the world. (Behind New Zealand gardens, that is!)

I haven't even begun packing, I have two loads of washing to do tonight, and I am very, very tired from a long day at work.

Tomorrow will be day one of the great gardening adventure. But right now I have to go and put my 100 or so tulip bulbs in the fridge, before I forget.

April 16:

A short flight to Sydney, Australia, is now behind me. The weather is wonderful, although the entire city appears to have been overtaken by road works. The Olympic Village is taking shape and it looks as if it will be a fantastic venue. I am staying with a family who hosted me as an exchange student ten years ago. Lorraine is training as a florist and we shall be up at the crack of dawn to travel to the flower markets. This holiday is starting out well!!

April 17:

Even though we got to the flower markets late - at about 7am - it is a rich feast of flowers, foliage and amazing berries. It is incredible how varied the plant material is on the other side of the Tasman Sea. Beautiful native banksias are eyecatching. I couldn't resist getting my hands on a bunch of the most exquisite tulips. 'New Design' are a soft pink, tinged with lemon and cream with an almost pearl-like texture. But most unusually, they have variegated leaves. The variegation is soft and not at all garish. I must try to find some bulbs when I return to New Zealand.

April 18:

Three hours in Singapore - where the airport company has kindly built a great gardening distraction for weary travellers. There is a surreal cactus garden on the roof, with fat round bulbous cacti and tall, lanky spiky ones as well. When I visited, it had just gone midnight, and the garden was beautifully lit.

April 19:

I have crawled into Heathrow feeling like death after a 12 hour flight with little or no sleep. I had the misfortune to be seated next to an Italian man who snored like a reverberating concrete smasher. Not pleasant. Never mind, on my arrival in London I discovered a fantastic new gardening magazine 'neweden'. It is very stylish, look out for it!

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