Roses are red, Violets are blue, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is coming , with some collectable jewellery, too.
Did you know the official flower for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a Violet? Neither did I! I have an affinity with any purple or blue hued flowers and in my story Escape to D’Amour my heroine is called Lavender and her mother called Violet because of the vibrant colour of their eyes. My Mum had an Aunt called Violet and I’ve always thought how lovely it would be to be named after a flower.
This year a lovely Toowoomba Artisan has ensured we will all be able to have a commemorative piece celebrating this delicate floral emblem. It is part of the celebrations for the 70th year of the Festival. Local jeweller, Mai Greenwood, has created a series of earrings devoted to the delicate flower which celebrates her fair city.
The garden city’s flower honours the memory of the fallen sons of WW1. After World War One, mothers of fallen soldiers decided to build a memorial for their boys and they set about raising funds by selling violets. Each bunch of fifty sold for just three pence. The funds were eventually raised and the Mothers’ memorial was built in 1922.
With a strong connection to Toowoomba’s past, the city’s Violet is the foundation floral of the Carnival and even plays a starring role as the key ingredient to Picnic Point’s best selling ice- cream. Mai has taken the flower and ‘ bottled ‘ the living flowers by artfully preserving them in resin. You can see Mai’s wares online at KOBO Magnolia, her small Artisan jewellery business.
The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers begins on September 20 and runs for ten gloriously colourful days. Look out for the plethora of their signature violets in this milestone year.
Michelle Beesley is a Brisbane born and bred former primary school teacher. A wife, proud grandma and mother of three grown sons, Michelle is thrilled to have recently published her debut contemporary romance novel, It Happened in Paris, with Serenade Publishing. Her novella – Escape to D’ Amour was published in 2019. Michelle’s work can be found in the anthologies – Destination Romance and Short & Sweet. When not reading or writing Michelle can be found at a coffee shop chatting with friends, front row at a fashion show, or beside a rugby union field cheering on her favourite teams.
Michelle is a reluctant traveller, Francophile, keen walker and avid yoga enthusiast plus a book, film and theatre lover who loves everything pink and sparkly (including champagne). You can find Michelle on instagram @michellebeesley_writer and her website: michellebeesley.com.
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