The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a month-long annual festival of flowers held every September in the “Garden City” of Toowoomba.
Throughout the city, parks and gardens burst into colour with spectacular floral displays. Think chrysanthemums, pansies, poppies and foxgloves in every shade imaginable. The flower beds are carefully designed to form intricate patterns and images, a true celebration of spring.
It’s worth acknowledging the incredible work behind it all: the months of planning, preparation, and the team of gardeners who bring these vibrant displays to life.
Our Visit
The carnival runs for four weekends, with major events like the Grand Central Floral Parade, live music, “Weekend Table” and the Paw Parade for your four-legged friends.
To avoid the crowds, we visited on a Thursday towards the end of the festival. The flowers were at their peak, and it was a lot quieter than the weekends. Parking was easy around Queens Park, but a little more difficult around Laurel Bank Park.
A staff member mentioned that the flowers would be mostly gone by the following week, so we’d chosen a perfect time to visit.
Here’s how we spent our time at the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.
Queens Park
The Botanic Gardens section of Queens Park is the main hub of the carnival, where you’ll find the largest floral displays – and the most people. You won’t have the flowers to yourself, but they’re worth braving the crowds for. The flowers are stunning. The bright oranges, reds, pinks, purples and blues are planted so carefully to bloom in patterns or lines. With a backdrop of blue skies, the flowers are spectacular to behold.
Watch closely and you’ll see bees busily gathering pollen on their legs, getting their fill from all these flowers laid out like a banquet for them.
To get an overview of the display, they’ve very helpfully put up some small scaffolding platforms which you can climb to take in the full effect of the displays.
In Queens Park you’ll also find the ferris wheel (worth it for even higher views of the displays), food trucks and plenty of space to wander. It’s a beautiful park. Beyond the Botanic Gardens section, the park has manicured lawns, huge palm and bottle trees, an amphiteatre, playgrounds and open grassy areas. It’s a lovely place to relax with or without the flowers.
Laurel Bank Park
The second park we visited was Laurel Bank Park, the sister to Queens Park. You’ll need to drive over from Queens Park and parking is more of a challenge here. Even on the weekday we visited we struggled, and I can imagine on the busier weekends it would be nearly impossible to find a spot nearby – expect to park in surrounding streets and walk.
Laurel Bank Park has similar displays to Queens Park – flowers in a range of striking, bright colours, really beautiful to behold.
If I had to chose only one park to visit during the carnival, it would be this one. The floral displays are just as spectacular, but here you also have topiary, a nearby playground, carousel, mini windmill and patterned flowerbeds. We didn’t find the advertised “scented garden“, but honestly, the whole park is so fragrant that we may have walked through it without even realising!
The flowers here form patterns and pictures. From ground level it’s hard to make them out, but there’s a viewing platform where you can climb up for a better perspective. Even then it’s not completely clear, but it does help. Next to the platform are handy reference pictures showing what each design is meant to be – from mermaids to mushrooms and more.
Also in this park are the animal topiaries – for my kids, one of the highlights of the whole day. The hedges have been neatly trimmed into the shapes of animals. We spotted an elephant, seal, spider, pig, ducks and even a Thomas the Tank Engine train you can actually sit in.
Laurel Bank Park is definitely the one to visit with kids. Just across the lawn from the flower displays is a playground where you can take a breather while the kids burn off some energy. You’ll also find the mini windmill and the ever-popular carousel here.
Don’t skip Laurel Bank Park. It’s more compact than Queens Park which makes it easier to explore, and it was my favourite of the two.
Cobb+Co Museum
Just across the road from Queens Park, Cobb+Co Museum is well worth a visit, even if only to cool off in the air conditioning after the heat of the gardens.
I’ll be writing a full piece about our visit soon (make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss it!), but during the Carnival of Flowers the museum also joins in the celebrations with a charming display of themed hanging baskets. Each one is designed around a different idea — our favourites were the fairy garden and the bee-inspired basket.
Admission is free for locals during the festival, and otherwise very reasonable at $12.50 for adults and $6.50 for children.
Food
Food is also a big part of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, with events like “Feastival”, Weekend Table and Tasting Tours among the signature weekend highlights.
Across the city, cafes, restaurants and pubs join in too, offering special springtime dishes (or #TReats: Toowoomba Region Eats, as they’re officially known) available only during the festival. You can find the full list of participating venues and their creations on the carnival website.
We sampled the #TReat at the Cobb+Co Museum cafe: a duo of pistachio rose and blueberry scones served with lemon curd and berry compote. Light, fruity and delicious – it didn’t last long between us!
If you like scones, you’ll want to check out my high tea reviews!
Good to Know
The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers runs across four weekends in September and October every year. The flower displays remain in place throughout the month, with extra events held on weekends. There’s also an evening program with rides and fireworks.
A reminder: don’t pick the flowers or let children walk through the displays – it takes months of work to bring them to life.
Toowoomba is a two-hour drive from Brisbane. Street parking is generally easy to find on weekdays but can be much busier on weekends.
Toowoomba
Known as the “Garden City,” Toowoomba is surprisingly green despite the dry, dusty landscape surrounding it. Expect tree-lined streets, expansive parks, and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. You could easily spend a few days here.
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