I have loved tulips ever since I received a bouquet from my Aunty Angie for my fourteenth birthday, which actually made me feel quite grown up. Flowers seemed like a “big girl” gift and perhaps that’s when my girlishness really started to shine. Last weekend we took a drive out to the Southern Highlands, an area about 1.5 hours away from Sydney. It’s full of the cutest towns, getaway cottages, antique stores, and teahouses. And what a perfect time of the year to visit: Tulip Time.

We stopped at Corbett Gardens for the Tulip Time festival. Over 100,000 tulips and 25,000 annuals were on display in this centrally located garden of Bowral. The range of colors and species were spectacular. In fact, does anyone know what type the yellow tulips are pictured above? I’m sure Monica from M&Co will know, who sweetly gives my novice hands detailed gardening advice all the way from Norway. Mum loved these particular tulips so perhaps she can go back to Bowral on November 10 for the annual bulbs day. All you have to do is grab your gardening gloves and $15 to purchase a sack. Then it’s all up to to you to dig your own bulbs from this treasure trove of a garden.

And of course we had to visit Milton Park, a 100 year old estate that was once home to the Hordern family and the venue of our wedding. It is the most calming place I have ever experienced and we knew it was the perfect spot for our wedding — intimate, personal, quiet, and surrounded by nature. Milton Park took part in the Tulip Time festival by opening its gardens to the public. My poor pictures do not do it justice but you can get a taste of the blue bell gardens, the fairy walk designed just for the Hordern children, and the special spot in the 300 acres of parkland that we chose for our ceremony (pictured above: Dad walking me down the aisle). And if you are looking for a quiet weekend away from Sydney, the rooms at Milton Park are simply beautiful.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Image credits: All photographs by me and our wedding photographer