Most times when we have cause to visit Perth we’re too busy attending to business, or catching up with friends and family to play tourist. However for mother’s day this year (in Australia – 2nd Sunday in May), we stayed a couple of nights at Alice’s (daughter), who lives in the northern suburbs of Perth.
We left Busselton early on the Saturday morning in time to capture the sun rising over the Busselton jetty.
Arriving at Alice’s just after 10am, we had time for a quick cuppa before heading out for a picnic to an inner city park. Every city in Australia seems to have it’s own Hyde Park, and Perth is no exception. Located between North Perth and Highgate, a couple of the older inner-city suburbs, Perth’s Hyde Park provides a shady, peaceful retreat in warmer weather for people living or working near by.
It’s an old fashioned style of city park with green lawns, flower gardens and lots of non-native trees including Jacarandas, Illawarra Flame Trees, willows, oaks, Plane trees, and huge wide-spreading, old Moreton Bay Fig Trees.
The great thing about the trees in Hyde park are the colours during the changing seasons. The plane trees turn orange and gold in autumn (autumn colour is rare in Perth).
The flame trees bloom with bright red flowers in spring and early summer.
Then the Jacarandas burst forth around November with their canapy of hazy purple.
In the middle of summer everything is green, providing full, deep shade for the joggers, walkers or picnickers who frequently visit this iconic park in Perth. However, in the dismal winter months the dense shade of the Moreton Bay Figs can make the areas around those trees just a little on the gloomy shade for my liking.
As far as parks go around Perth, Hyde park is largely different to most in that most of the species growing there aren’t native to Australia. Whilst I prefer the native species, it was still be a welcome change to visit Hyde Park. When the sun is shining those Moreton Bay Figs are a real pleasure.
Perth’s own Hyde Park – providing a small sampling of European horticulture in Perths inner city area.
I have a friend with a great interest in the native orchids. Her enthusiasm is contagious so I suspect come spring we will also be on the wildflower/orchid hunt for photos.
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I love your photos! WA is so pretty during this time of year. I can’t wait until the wildflowers start blooming later on this year I really want to go out to York and just snap away! 😃
Amber A.
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Some of the older suburbs here have streets lined with them. When planted as an avenue they put on an amazing show.
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It would be quite beautiful. We have many growing here too and Brisbane is covered in purple in October.
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So do I. I’ve promised myself a trip to Grafton one year in October for their Jacaranda Festival. I’ve seen photos of the jacaranda lined trees all in flower. It looks too pretty for words.
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It is a change to the usual parks, and it only exists because it was planted in the times when everything had to mimic England. It’s only more recently that our own native species have come to be appreciated. Thank goodness. Even though not native though, it is a pretty Park.
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I love jacarandas and they make such a beautiful display in November.
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I’m with you Chris I prefer native trees but wow what colour in the non natives. Nice to have a mix. 👌
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Yes. I do remember the ones at Sydney Gardens. They are just wonderful 😉
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They are stunning aren’t they. Have you seen the old ones in the botanical gardens overlooking Sydney harbour. They are AMAZING. They make our Hyde park ones look like babies.
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I love those fig trees. 😉
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