The National Rhododendron Garden - Winter

We made our first trip to the National Rhododendron Garden last year, taken there by Gay, a neighbor and friend.We fell instantly in love with it. It's hard not to like this place, so beautiful and easy to walk.

It's been raining here quite a lot (typical Mount Dandenong winter weather) and we're missing the sun. But Sunday the rain held off (although it was very cloudy) and so we decided to get out of the house and go for a walk. I'd seen some rhododendrons blooming down in the city, and wondered if there might be any in bloom in the national garden - so we headed there for our little bit of exercise.

There wasn't a lot in bloom, but even so, a few brave bushes are sporting some lovely flowers, like this one:

Even in winter, the gardens are lovely. There are a few small ponds and a lively stream running through. The sound of gently trickling water merges with the twitter of robins and finches to produce a calming atmosphere, even on a cloudy day like this one.

All of the rhododendrons not blooming now are loaded with promising buds. There's no mistaking the signs that there's going to be an explosion of colour very soon.

We'll be returning throughout the spring, cameras in hand, and hope to capture some lovely images to share with you here.  Stay tuned!