… tree leaves were showing no signs of changing colour. Now half way through September things are set to change especially with cooler gusty days. On Sunday a visit to Edinburgh Botanical Gardens gave us a little taster of Autumnal scenes to come. Taking photos, it also reminded me how I absolutely love the shapes of trees. I really must start drawing again.

The Hope Tree shown above is named after John Hope, Regius Keeper at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (1761 to 1786). It is displayed in the new visitor centre, The John Hope Gateway, located at the West Gate of the garden. For those that can’t follow the link, the Gold, Silver or Bronze leaves can be inscribed with a personal message to celebrate a significant event or to commemorate the life of a loved one.

Looking out from the decked path, on the restaurant level of the centre back in August, you can see the new dedicated biodiversity garden with its weaving pathways. I wonder just how many plants were planted…

Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Springing forward a month to last Sunday and standing on one of the paths you can see this garden taking shape beautifully…

The stepped water pools of the biodiversity garden has had my attention since construction began. Although it can also be viewed from the restaurant level it is the ground view from inside the centre that always catches my eye.

Don’t you just love the reflections of the red Lobelia as it was looking by the middle of September? Note the white water lilies ready to open too. With the sunny reflections through the glass inside the centre and people around it was difficult to show the stepped levels at their best.

Leaving the sunny window and heading into the darker world of the current exhibition at Edinburgh Botanical Gardens you’ll find a fascinating Fungi exhibition. Running until November 21st there’s plenty time to see it if you are able to visit.

We are now at the perfect time to head outdoors to see Fungi in woodlands too. Every year I mean to head out with my camera in search of these weird and wonderful plants. Perhaps this year 🙂

Okay, that’s almost enough chat and links for today. This was a garden visit so let’s head back to August, to the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh and outside for a brief garden tour of what caught my eye that day…

The above photo was taken in September. Note the difference
in softness of light over the same area in August below.

August tour over, without a doubt Botanical Gardens are a wonderful source of inspiration. From valuable information to just seeing flowers they really have it all. Being familiar with this garden (as it isn’t too long a journey for me) I generally pick an area to wander each time I visit. Although, I always include a visit to the Chinese Hillside Garden 🙂

You’re never alone with a camera at a Botanical Garden… perhaps I should get my daughter to count them on our next visit to Edinburgh 😉 We heard many languages as we wandered. Tourists and locals were enjoying the garden. I hadn’t planned my visit on Sunday, but I do know another blogger from Sheffield who did.

Liz at Gwirrel’s Garden has just posted photos of her trip to Edinburgh including some from the Botanical garden. You can join Liz on her tour here. I always find it fascinating to see the different views of a garden visit from another set of eyes. Although some of Liz’s garden shots are close-ups I can see they are from the same areas that caught my attention on our visit. Liz also visited the Chinese Garden 🙂

If you are considering travelling to Edinburgh and plan a trip to the Botanical Gardens you might be interested in a guided tour. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t know they did them. I’ve just discovered Garden Walks ‘run’ very day from 1st April to 31st October at 11am and 2pm. There is a small charge. See details here.

Ah… you can put your feet up now… you must be tired 😉 If you fancy another tour… next up will be our September visit to Edinburgh Botanical Gardens. Although… I need to put up my feet up and get my photos sorted first 😉