Last weekend was so dreich and dismal, with the raining pouring down the whole weekend, we could stand it no longer. So on Sunday afternoon we decided to try to travel to wherever there was a patch of dry sky. We were reliably informed that it wasn’t actually raining in Perth, although it was grey and overcast. So, we girded our loins and set off for Perth, planning to use our newly delivered National Trust cards and visit Branklyn Garden. It’s a garden of two acres and it’s a stone’s throw from Perth town centre, just cross over the bridge and turn to the right. It costs £6 to get in, which is quite a lot as it isn’t a big garden but there are plenty of nice benches to sit on and contemplate. My top tip is – join the National Trust if you like visiting places like this as you’ll end up saving money in the long run.

The golden acer below is called Acer Shirasawanum – and I want one! All of my acers are the red/purple variety.

This is the Arts and Crafts house which belonged to the Rentons who were the original owners of the gardens and donated them to the National Trust. You can’t look around the house as it’s lived in by the garden’s manager.

This is one of the many paths around Branklyn Gardens. They have the national collection of Himlayan popies here but we were just about a week too late to see them at their best, the same goes for the rhododendrons. We must remember to go a wee bit earlier next year.

More paths and lovely planting.

A pretty pond area, the water is amazingly clear.

These orchids on the right are quite weird looking.

The rock garden is very well done but at the moment it isn’t too colourful.

Gorgeous bark!

Gorgeous tree.

Yes, it’s a bit of a tree bark fest!

Turk’s Cap lilies, amongst many other plants.

The only complaint I have is that a lot of the plant names have either disappeared or worn away, hopefully they’ll eventually be replaced. Have a look at this You Tube video, which will give you more of an idea of the layout of the garden.