The WA Botanic Garden in Kings Park is 50 this year. And ABC said the floral show would be spectacular, so of course we went down. It was a lovely high-20s day, the sun was out, some of the plants smelled like candy, we saw ducklings, and it was just fabulous.

Here, enjoy some pictures!

Kangaroo Paw (Angiozanthos x). I love ones with fingers that go from one colour to another. They remind me of the old Rocket ice creams.

Flower bud from what I think is a Tall Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos flavidus).

Saw heaps of waxflower (Chamelaucium x) bushes. So many that it was starting to get weird. Then I realised we were in the waxflower section, and everything would be all right.

Paper daisies (also called Everlastings). I love these flowers. Sitting in a field of them was delightful. And watching bees bumble around, even moreso.

This is a Bush Flame pea (Chorizema varium), an endangered native legume.

This is a Woolly Wattle (Acacia lanuginophylla). It's listed as vulnerable, threatened by vegetation clearing, grazing and salinity. It's such a strange plant. You could easily mistake it for a fake because the leaves feel like crafting felt. Touching it hit home for me what a shame it would be to lose our native plants. There's a lot of weird shit in Australia, which I think makes us quite special.

This weird thing is a seed pod from a type of Melaleuca or Callistemon shrub.

This is a bee enjoying his summer holiday. Well, no, but it looks a bit like it, don't you think? :) I was walking past this very low-growing prostrate bush, thinking it was just a boring bunch of groundcover leaves, when a bee landed on it and started feasting. Then I realised the flowers were green. Are they just young, or did this species evolve to have flowers that match the leaves? What made this a desirable survival trait? What animals preferred green sources of food? All these questions, just from seeing a flower that wasn't a pretty colour.

This is a Scented Boronia (Boronia megastigma), and it smells delicious. Like the fake fruit flavours in Japanese candy. There is a hipster café in Maylands (Mrs. S) whose table display sometimes has Scented Boronia. If you can't make it to Kings Park, go to this café and sniff the flowers there.

The Swamp Star Flower (Calytrix breviseta subsp. breviseta) is cute and pretty, and very endangered. :( The Garden doesn't even have a full plant. The tiny specimen they have is grafted onto a hardy rootstock.

I may have gone a bit mental photographing Banksias. They are just too cute.

(not sure if this one is a Banksia, though)

Hee hee, looks like it's wearing a cardigan.

This is a Balga (Xanthorrhoea pressii), also known as a grass tree or, in antiquated times, a blackboy. Fun fact: flowering can be stimulated by fire.

Ah, a wild photographer in his natural habitat!

The Garden is well designed. Lots of nooks and crannies. Even with people wandering about, it's pretty easy to find a quiet spot and feel like the crowd is ages away.

I'm not sure what type of plant this is. Looking at the leaves, maybe another Banksia? It looked very cool though.

Cray cray, huh?

A type of wattle. I'm not sure which type, but aaaaaa~ so cute.

A Cranbrook Bell (Darwinia meeboldii).

And some ducks. ^___^