As I mentioned last week, two months from now I will be calling Glasgow, Scotland "home." I am really excited about it for tons of reasons, and one of them is the spectacular Botanic Garden right in the middle of the city. As soon as I walked into the big Victorian green house, I knew this would be a spot I'll visit frequently. This will be especially true in the winter when it's cold and rainy- they have central heating installed in the greenhouse so they can grow tropical plants (like tree ferns!).
The Glasgow Botanic Garden covers a large area of the city along the River Kelvin. There are rose gardens, a vegetable garden, an herb garden, gardens through time (looking at introduced species), greenhouses, lawns, pathways... it's just lovely. Also, it's free and open to the public. During garden hours, the large iron gates stand open for anyone to wander in as they please. I really love a good public garden.
The highlight of my trip to the garden? The carnivorous plant exhibit! My mother has always had a thing for carnivorous plants, especially pitcher plants. We have been on many expeditions to various bogs around New England in the search for pitcher plants, and she can take you right to the spot at the edge of the lake where the Sundews dwell. Maybe one day I'll tell you about the Great Bog Hunt of 2005... it involves a bulldog, birch-bark shields, an impenetrable forest of spruce, and a temper tantrum. But not today.
The Glasgow Botanic Garden had the most beautiful carnivorous plant exhibit I have ever seen. That is saying something because I have seen exhibits of them in gardens all over the world from Australia to South Africa - none were as well-done as this. There were specimens of pitcher plants I had never seen before, all artfully arranged around a greenhouse. There were also sundews (little carnivorous plants who never get much love) as well as Venus fly traps. I could have spent hours just looking at these plants. They are truly stunning. I hope the exhibit is still on when Mom comes to visit me in Glasgow!
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| "Let Glasgow Flourish" |
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| Beautiful ironwork on bridge over the River Kelvin |
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| Glaswegians enjoy a rare sunny day on the lawns of the garden |
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| Assorted pitcher plants |
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| A mass of Venus fly traps |
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| Bulbous pitcher plants and moss |
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| Blooming pitcher plants |
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| Varied and variegated pitcher plants |
The Glasgow Botanical Gardens are very beautiful, they are the photographer's paradise. There are so many beautiful flowers and plants there, that you won't want to leave the place.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! No matter how many times I go back, I find new beautiful things to look at. Even in the dead of winter there are a surprising number of blooms.
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