Floriade, in its COVID lockdown variation, officially finished on October 17.
The event was not the festival of spring in Commonwealth Park that Canberrans are used to, when the flowers were complemented by cafes, sideshow alley, shops and other attractions.
But the flowers still bloomed in Commonwealth Park, COVID or no COVID, lockdown or not.
New Floriade head gardener Shannon Walker and her team worked tirelessly to plant the million bulbs and annuals in Commonwealth Park, only for the event to be cancelled due to COVID restrictions.
And Floriade, for the second year, was spread throughout the city, with plantings at community sites and in and around our neighbourhoods.
So there were still lots of flowers to enjoy.
COVID also did not kill off another treasured Floriade tradition - cutting the blooms at the end and distributing to worthy recipients throughout the city.
Events ACT and Transport Canberra City Services staff did just that in recent days, collecting the remaining blooms and taking them to hospitals and aged care facilities around the national capital, sharing some of the beauty of Floriade with those who couldn't get out to Commonwealth Park or some of the community locations.
They also made special deliveries of Floriade blooms to some of Canberra's frontline workers, as a special thank you.
The beautiful bunches were delivered to the ACT Health COVID vaccination and testing clinics, including the vaccination hub at the AIS.
