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.

Sunrising over Busselton Jetty as we left for Perth in the early morning

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.

Moreton Bay Figs provide plenty of shade

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).

Plane Trees in Autumn

The flame trees bloom with bright red flowers in spring and early summer.

Flame trees in Spring

Then the Jacarandas burst forth around November with their canapy of hazy purple.

Jacarandas in November

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.

A shady canopy for ivy to flourish underneath

Perth’s own Hyde Park – providing a small sampling of European horticulture in Perths inner city area.