It was wet, and then it was windy, but in between the sun peeked out and Floriade festival-goers delighted in its warmth.
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Canberrans and visitors to the capital flocked to the annual flower festival on its opening day on Saturday.
Garden beds packed with beautiful blooms were on show, following months of preparation from the dedicated team of gardeners.
Sydneysiders Brent and Lilian Whiteman were visiting Floriade for the first time with their two children, Rhys, 5, and Laura, 2.
"We drove down this morning for this," Mr Whiteman said.
"We haven't been before, so we thought we'd make a bit of a weekend of it in Canberra. We've heard great things about it from people who have been here."
For Sydney couple Therese Maran and Robert Sutherland, Floriade was a colourful highlight of an action-packed trip.
"I'm a huge David Bowie fan," said Ms Maran, who lost her voice at the Bowie tribute concert with The Ziggy Band on Friday night in Commonwealth Park.
"Robert surprised me with the concert last night, it was really fantastic, we really enjoyed it. Today we're here to see the flowers - the sun came out for me so I'm very, very pleased - and tonight we're going to the Wallabies. Canberra is rolling out something for me and something for him," Ms Maran said.
Canberra resident Carolyn Stewardson and her 11-year-old daughter Katherine are annual visitors at Floriade.
Each year, Katherine goes in the gnome painting competition to support Rotary, and for the past five years she has participated in art classes held by Lavendar Art Studio, drawing and painting the flowers.
"We love coming out to do the art," Ms Stewardson said.
Floriade was also the proud host of the launch of the ACT branch of charity GIVIT on Saturday.
The greenhouse by the lake was the place to warm up cold hands and learn about the innovative initiative.
Chief executive and founder Juliette Wright said the national not-for-profit aimed to directly connect those who have, with those who need, in that charities request whatever they need, and people donate to meet those specific requests.
"We've hit 530,000 donations, and it's good because all of those donations are exactly what the person needed, it's not random," Ms Wright said.
This year Floriade is celebrating its 30th birthday with a display of "best of" gardens from the past three decades.
The coming week is set to bring better weather, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting an early frost but a top of 21 on Monday, and a possible shower with a top of 20 on Tuesday.
