It was back in August the 14th that we visited the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and it was a searingly hot day, well to me anyway but maybe not to others. It felt strange to be out and about as due to Covid-19 we hadn’t travelled so far from home since February, we had to book a time of arrival so that lots of people didn’t arrive at the gates at the same time, but it still seemed quite busy to me.
There’s a grove of Monkey Puzzle trees (Aurucaria) they seem to be love or hate trees but I recall one from a park in my early childhood and I’ve always admired their strangeness.
There were still quite a lot of things in flower despite August often being regarded as being quite a sparse time for gardens in Scotland with many flowers having performed already. The agapanthus flowers were still going strong, I love that shade of blue.
The early dahlias have a background of statuesque bamboos, those are not something that you want to let loose in your own garden as if you aren’t careful they’ll take over.
A water feature runs through the rockery section, looking very natural.
I think the common name for the grasses below is Angels’ fishing rod, it’s very elegant whatever it is.
Of course Acers/Japanese Maples are always a favourite with me.
It was quite exhausting walking around so we didn’t stay too long, it was too hot and bright for us. We did manage to have a rest on a bench for a while which was good, some places have taped off all the benches or removed them so that people can’t have a sit down on them and potentially contaminate them with Covid-19. A black cat came and hid from the sun under the bench we were sitting on. I’m not sure if that was meant to be good or bad luck as it didn’t cross our path. Anyway, here we are back at Covid restrictions again after a brief respite, and from Friday we aren’t allowed to have anyone in our houses again, it’ll be worse this time around as it’s now too cold to have friends or family visiting and just chatting in the garden, but at least we can still travel around, for the moment anyway.
I am so sorry you are dealing with more restrictions now. Celia and I wanted to visit the botanic gardens when we were visiting last year but we ran out of time. If the world ever returns to normal and we make it to Scotland again we will have to go.
Jennifer,
Fingers crossed the ban on visiting friends and family in their homes will do the trick and bring the Covid stats down again. Surely we will be able to travel again sometime in the future. See you in Edinburgh!
What a lovely walk. I’m with you and Jack, though; I can’t take heat or bright sunlight. I really should live in Scotland! It took three years, but my agapanthus finally bloomed this year. Apparently, they like to be pot-bound. Mine is a darker blue than the ones in the photo. I think it’s called Storm Cloud.
Joan,
Yes you would be much comfier living in Scotland! I bought two agapanthus roots in the spring and they both grew leaves but I think I’ll put them in pots to restrict their growth and encourage flowering. I think one of them is supposed to be white.
What a lovely way to spend the day even if it was hot. Keep safe and healthy!
Stefanie,
You would probably have felt it to be cool, it was just over 70 F I think, but that’s more than enough for me!
I was about to be annoyed I missed these gardens on my brief trip to Edinburgh, then remembered it was November so it would not have been so lovely. It is true, however, that if the day is too hot this type of excursion has to be in small doses. It looks lovely, however! How far away do you live? Have you read A Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley?
Constance,
I live in Fife, about 30 miles from Edinburgh, on the other side of the River Forth so in ordinary times we are in Edinburgh often, sometimes twice a week. No the botanic gardens wouldn’t be great in winter, unless it snows, then the trees would be pretty. I’ve only read A Season of Storms and The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley, I enjoyed them both so don’t know why I haven’t got around to reading more of her books.