STORY BY ANTHONY CARRUBBA

The phrase “unprecedented times” has surely pulled its lexical weight this year, gracing our ears and lips for months on end. It feels as though the term gradually lost some of its shine with each use. As 2020 ground on and “the new normal” sank in, it started to seem like most precedents had indeed been set, and that the remainder of the year would promise little more than a plodding march out of lockdown. 

Yet we Victorians have experienced some interesting twists since the much-anticipated onset of spring. Really, the season hardly sprung on us at all. Instead of bursting sunshine, warm weather and colourful flowers, a polar plunge blasted the state with bone-biting winds, rain, and even snow. In September, swathes of regional Victoria were tucked under a frosty white blanket that bewildered and excited in equal measure. To me, it seemed almost as if Winter was stubbornly refusing to relinquish its hold on our much-beleaguered state, delaying blossom blooms and sunny days for as long as possible.

So, Lost is returning to print after a second grueling lockdown, and Spring is off to a hobbling start. It all seems quite disheartening, but this season is all about rebirth and renewal! Like the budding plants themselves, Victoria is shrugging off the sluggishness of winter and the confines of lockdown. Steadily and stubbornly, gardens and parks are returning to life, beginning to bustle not only with flowers and foliage but also with friends and families, celebrating reunions in fine weather. 

Regional Victoria is especially beautiful in the springtime, with an array of botanical wonders both cultivated and wild. Wildflowers and native beauties like the iconic pink common heath adorn landscapes, reviving the sights and smells of our surrounds. In a previous issue, we discussed the legacy of Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller, who established and curated many of the state’s botanic gardens in the 19th Century. Well, now is the best time to harvest the fruits of his extensive labours! Beautiful gardens, ornate with gorgeous flora, dot the Victorian countryside.

Daylesford’s own Wombat Hill Botanic Garden is a particular gem with its sweeping vistas and floral charms. Nearby, the enchanting Garden of St Erth practically glitters with a dizzying array of plants that gird the historic home at its centre. As this reluctant spring finally hits its stride, we should revitalise and rejuvenate in amongst nature itself, shaking off the unnatural isolation this year has brought us.