Before I begin yapping about sunshine and daisies, here’s a riddle to invigorate the braincell(singular).

What act of philanthropy does one indulge in while deep watering the lawn?

-10 if you say Earthworm welfare(sillysillysilly)

-50 if you say caring for the environment.

+100 if you say empowering the grassroots.

hehehehehe…..

Do not jab the blogger with grass. I repeat, do not jab the blogger with grass.

One of my goals on my trip to Melbourne was to go gadget free other than for photography, so most of my strolls through the city had me ditching Google Maps for pure traveller’s instinct.

On one such stroll, I simply happened to see the sign for Queen Victoria Gardens and my traveller’s instinct immediately tingled like an over-excited antennae and bade my feet to stroll the lawns to pass a pleasant autumn afternoon.

The entrance of the Queen Victoria Gardens is simply a lane, bounded by busts. One bust is a replica of Apollo Belvedere, which is an ancient sculpture of the Greek God Apollo, and the second bust is a replica of the Farnese Hercules, which is also an ancient Greek sculpture built by Glycon of Athens.

I love the play of shadows in this picture, it looks very dramatic, while the autumn-hued trees in the distance add in a sense of serenity. The garden was nearly empty when I visited it, so the silence was really musical, since the only sound for most of my stroll was that of birds or the occasional rustling of leaves, which was really refreshing, especially in the midst of a city.

The reason this picture fascinates me is because the trees sort of represent the different stages that a tree undergoes through passing seasons.

The shortest tree depicts a golden, autumnal foliage, the tree beside that depicts a lighter foliage, signalling an oncoming winter, while the trees beside that depict a young, green ensemble for spring and summer.

I also love the striped look of the lawn, with alternating bands of light and shadows. It reminds me of this particular activity that I used to have in school, where we had to draw shadows according to the time of the day. I mean, looking at the shadows here, a lot of the mess that I made, with respect to the angles and directions of the shadows, during that activity seems perfectly acceptable, because Nature does not exactly colour between the lines. My shadow activities almost always drew reprimand for being inaccurate but now that I see it, I was a budding scenery artist, with a more realistic idea of shadows.

hehe.

Moral: Draw lopsided shadows.

hehe….

Here we have the first sculpture that I came across while strolling through the Gardens. It is called the MPavilion. It is actually a pavilion, consisting of a serpentine gallery, made of the white walls, and the disc-like structure is a roof to provide shade.

The MPavilion is a temporary structure, with a new one being built by a different architect every year. It is basically a spot for people to gather and share ideas or simply exist in each other’s company. It is also used for art events and after it has served its tenure, it is donated to any institution in the city such as the Melbourne Zoo, which has one of the older pavilions.. The pavilion here, is the one that was built in 2023. There have been nine pavilions so far, and I think the project has reached its end with the pictured pavilion but I would really like to see it continue because the idea of having a different artist build a common structure for the purpose of celebrating art and culture is something that I really loved.

I also love how the pavilion looks like a secret lair. At a distance, it simply looks like a disc surrounded by a wall, but there’s magic brewing inside it. It kind of reminds me of the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter.

Anything that reminds me of Harry Potter makes squeal!!!!

hehe:)

Here’s a view of the city and the Arts Precinct Tower, framed by autumn-clad trees. I love how there’s so much colour and energy, amalgamating with a lazy, tranquil vibe. Visiting the Queen Victoria Gardens was not on my initial bucket list, but I was so glad to stroll into it. It is such a sweet place, with nothing but fun sculptures and views, and it does wonders in refreshing the mind after a hustle through the city.

This is a sculpture called Phoenix, built at the edge of a pond which was covered with maple leaves. The golden background and the flaming shades of autumn really add to the vibe of rising from the flames and I loved how perfectly metaphorical the scene was, almost like a fantastical picture coming to life.

Ok, so I live in a country where Autumn is not exactly a major season because I live in the tropics, so I have a very literary idea of Autumn but I haven’t seen the season in its full glory, so experiencing the season in Melbourne was like living a very beautiful fantasy. I was so awestruck when I saw a full golden foliage spread out before me, it was like all my childhood fairytales coming to life.

The maple leaf in the picture is something that I brought home as a keepsake because it was the first time I’d ever seen a maple leaf. I still have it in the pages of my notebook and its something that I will cherish forever.

This is a sculpture of Edward VII, overlooking a giant clock face, carved out in the lawn. I hadn’t noticed the clock face while taking the picture, and I figured it out only when I strolled past it a while later. The Gardens are full of hidden sculptures and it can be a fun place for treasure hunts. I loved finding things, while simply strolling, and I did keep checking if the sculptures had hidden pathways leading to forbidden treasure.

hehe.

This was my favourite sculpture in the Gardens, simply because of the duck who is resting and automatically stealing the spotlight by his presence.

Ducks have fascinated me since I was little and finding a duck by chance is a mini victory for me, so I was really happy to have a duck in the aesthetics of this picture. Also, I love that the pond is totally covered by maple leaves. This is the start of a beautiful process, where the essence of the maple leaves fuses into the water and forms what we know as maple syrup.

Source: Delulu Fantasy

hehe….

The duck’s called Quentin.

hehe.

This is a sculpture called ‘The Pathfinder’. I loved how unique the sculpture was, and I feel it represents taking a shot at life and seeing where it lands, thus carving out your path and maybe inspiring others to follow the same path(or not, hehe)

The green and gold backdrop looks surreal, along with the peeking patch of blue sky.

This here is a very unique sculpture. When I saw it, I thought its some sort of a winged cat and anything cat related always drives me wild, so I ended up taking twenty seven pictures of it, but I found out a day later that the sculpture is called ‘The Genie’.

Now, if the sculptor means that cats are genies, in the sense that they can fulfil every wish, I support the logic.

hehe.

In the background, we have a sculpture of Queen Victoria, the person after whom the Gardens, and the state of Victoria, are named. The sculpture is surrounded by rose bushes, and that really adds a beautiful contrast to the leafy surroundings.

Said rose bushes….The roses were bigger than my palm. So much that I thought the petals were going to blink and sing Golden Afternoon.

hehe.

Finally, here’s a picture of the pond, with two ducks, napping during Golden Hour.

I love how the golden maple leaves give way to a more swamp like look, and it feels like a sort of a fairy portal.

The Queen Victoria Gardens are simply a treat. It’s like seeing all the magic of a fairy tale unfold in the midst of a silent stroll and I was so happy that I chose to spend a part of my afternoon here.

And that is a wrap.

Until Next Time,

Cheerio!