Happy Wattle Day 1st September

A touch of sunshine and that unique sweet musky wattle smell.

Everything is covered in a fine dust of yellow at our house, there are wattles out in full bloom all over the place. I have to use the windscreen wipers to see out of my car and the poor spiders can't hide their webs. Golden Dust Wattle, Blackwoods, Black Wattle, Cootamundras, Silver Wattle ...... all showing off their yellow magnificence. Grab yourself a sprig of wattle and wear it with pride today, Wattle Day is indeed a day to celebrate.

  

Wattle Day began September 1st 1910 

on that day the Sydney Morning Herald wrote -

Let the wattle henceforth be a sacred charge to every Australian. Let us foster and protect and cherish it. Let us plant it in all our parks and reserves and pleasure grounds, so that we may make pilgrimages to its groves in blossom time. let us give our schoolchildren wattle plants, and offer annual prizes for the best grown trees, that there may be no Australian who cannot link it with his childish memories....

To the native born Australian the wattle stands for home, country, kindred, sunshine, and love - every instinct that the heart most deeply enshrines.

What wonderful sentiment for the times. for more on the history of Wattle Day follow this link

http://wattleday.com/1stwattleday.php

 I have been involved in many tree planting activities with school children on Wattle Day, it's a great excuse to get outside, appreciate, and care for our environment.  Sadly some schools no longer want to plant wattles due to their pollen and concerns about asthma and hay fever.  I know some people are allergic to its pollen but I think it gets a bad wrap because its pollen is so obvious - not like the sneaky grass pollen that gets me sneezing.  Perhaps there will be Australian children who will not link wattle with their childish memories.... What a shame that more people don't know about Wattle Day. 


This Wattle Day I'll be getting our local school kids outdoors for Junior Landcare, learning about bugs, and I will see if I can get them to wear a golden sprig.

For more information click on the banner below.

Happy Wattle Day. Let me know if you are doing anything to celebrate.