Some pictures from our morning walk in the Royal Botanic Garden. Click to enlarge the one above and you'll see Edinburgh Castle taken from the lawns in front of Inverleith House.
The Rhododendron Gates
Acer shirasawanum aureum
Eucalyptus coccifera
The Victorian Palm House
Cedrus atlantica
Cone by Andy Goldsworthy with the New Town beyond.
Prunus serrula
"What would the world be, once bereft
of wet and wildness? Let them be left.
O let them be left, wildness and wet:
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet."
Gerard Manley Hopkins (who hadn't seen my garden when he wrote that).
More from the RBGE soon.
Wish I could have been with you in the RBG. I always wonder what species of Rhododendron the gates are based on, there are some with fairly silvery leaves, but none quite as dazzling I think. P
Posted by: Peter the flautist | 22 July 2007 at 01:35 PM
What incredibly beautiful gates and sculptures. Of course being Australian I was interested in the eucalyptus too; I found out that it is the Tasmanian snow gum, and here is a link to an extraordinary if rather over the top specimen! www.apstas.com/snowgumbark.jpg
I have to say I prefer yours! Do you know the book Eucalyptus by Murray Bail? It was going to be a film with Nicole Kidman but it seems to have fallen through. Anyway, thank you again.
Posted by: Elizabeth | 22 July 2007 at 02:21 PM
'Wild and wet' it is, here in deepest Gloucestershire at the moment. My son saw people jet skiing down the road earlier!! Andy Goldsworthy's wonderful sculptures say it all, don't they...the unpredictability of it all, and the beauty too.
Posted by: carole bruce | 22 July 2007 at 06:17 PM
I have loved GMH since we were "forced" to "do" him at A Level, something odd happened and I ended up keeping that same annotated volume very close down the years and always turning to it.
Posted by: dovegreyreader | 22 July 2007 at 07:32 PM
Thanks for the little tour. I do love the gate and I love the live cones. I have always wanted a tree with upright cones! GMH could have been writing about the gardens in our wet, windy and west coast!
Posted by: Peg | 22 July 2007 at 09:27 PM
Beautiful photography. Thank you for taking us on this tour. Thank you also for your kind words on my blog.
Posted by: Nora | 22 July 2007 at 09:40 PM
Oh I do love to be at the Botanics. Hubbie and I go there VERY often. I much prefer it to Kew Gardens, though their hothouses are superb.
But Edinburgh's Botanics have a special magic of their own, in all weathers. We take all our foreign visitors there too.
Your photos are superb and really capture the essence of the gardens. I am so proud of them and feel so lucky to have them on my doorstep...well one hour's drive away actually, but you know that's no distance really.
If we ever sell Barleycorn, I've told hubbie we're going to buy a house or flat overlooking the gardens...either there or North Berwick, which is another of our playgrounds, where we do lots of birdwatching and walking along the clifftops :)
Posted by: A Wildlife Gardener | 23 July 2007 at 08:58 AM
Lovely. Lucky you to have an Andy Goldsworthy nearby to admire, too.
Posted by: Harriet | 23 July 2007 at 09:39 AM
What a spectacular view you have. Gorgeous photos.
Posted by: tara | 23 July 2007 at 05:03 PM
What a beautiful setting. I was surprised to see palm and eucalyptus trees, though. I had no idea they could thrive in northern climates.
Posted by: Francesca | 23 July 2007 at 07:54 PM
I love the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. How lucky you are to be able to take your morning walk there and see the changing seasons.I have almost the same photos as you, but I will never tire of seeing them :o)
Posted by: jane | 03 March 2009 at 11:09 PM