Mt Coot tha Botanic Gardens

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Dress: Camp Hill Antique Centre vintage linen, wool embroidery

Cardigan: Metalicus knit

Pashmina: Booval Fair Markets wool

Ankle Boots: Renee Loves Frances leather, silver hardware

Bag: Pigeonhole leather

Hinged Bangle: Gift, Metropolitan Museum of Art silver, gold (from America)

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Avid readers of this blog will already know how much I love to get out of the house & explore the Great Outdoors during the colder months so, needless to say, I'm super chuffed about sharing all the gorgeous pictures from a day in the company of my intrepid parental companions & sometime photographers, traipsing around the Mt Coot tha Botanic Gardens. For those who have never had the pleasure, the gardens were opened in 1976 & are recognised as Brisbane's premier subtropical botanical environment, full of distinct areas arranged into both geographical & thematic displays. Moreover, they have a bright & airy lake-view restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows & a covered deck serving modern & distinctly Australian meals for breakfast & lunch.

For the occasion, I decided to wear something a little more casual than my standard fare in the form of this absolutely stunning thick black linen midi dress with intricate white wool floral embroidery (handmade in Mexico) that I picked up from the Camp Hill Antique Centre, long white knitted cardigan from funky Australian label Metalicus for that monochrome look that I love so much, soft gold & white floral wool pashmina from the Booval Fair Markets to ward off the chill in the air, tan leather ankle boots with silver zippers from the awesome Renee Loves Frances store in Bulimba & matte black leather handbag from Pigeonhole... possibly the best cost-per-wear purchase that I have EVER made, truth be told, as it is literally my go-to option for pretty much every outfit, every single day. When it came to jewellery, less was definitely more, so I chose a vintage (if you can call items from the 1990s that... it's one of those round-in-circles discussions) silver hinged bangle with gold scarab beetle, gifted to me by a dear friend who purchased it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York quite a few years ago, when they had an Egyptian exhibition.

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded...

Conservation Trail

Australian Rainforest

Bonsai House

Japanese Garden

Designed by one of Japan's leading landscape architects, the late Kenzo Ogata for Expo 88 & eventually relocated to Mt Coot tha, it features key elements of stone, water, paths & vegetation or "tsuki-yama-chisen."

Hide & Seek Children's Trail

Fern House

Opened in 2002, it contains more than 80 different species & varieties of ferns, including those living on land, rocks, trees & in the water.

Tropical Dome

The largest geodesic structure in Australia providing a climate close to optimal natural growing conditions for plants not often found in Brisbane.

Corn & Zucchini Fritters with a Portobello Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Labneh

"The Butterfly Catchers" by Brisbane's imaginatively named Artbusters

Originally created for Expo 88, it was recently recast (along with many other works on the "Public Art Trail") to celebrate the 30th anniversary.

Bamboo Grove

Lagoon & Duck Pond

National Freedom Wall

Built to commemorate 50 years of the freedom in the Pacific, it honours servicemen & women who gave their lives in service of their country. In addition, it contains a memorial to those such as the Red Cross & Salvation Army, who kept the spirit of freedom alive in Australia during such adverse times.