Adelaide Botanic Gardens
No Comments »13th March, 2010; Category: Adelaide, Botanic Gardens, Parks and Gardens, Photos, Plants, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
My wife and I enjoy visiting botanic gardens whenever we travel. On an interstate holiday recently we visited all the major and few minor botanic gardens along the route. In fact, I especially chose the route to include as many as we could see in the three weeks we were away.
My wife enjoys looking at the plants, especially the native Australian plants. I enjoy looking for the bird life and botanic gardens with their abundant plant communities are ideal for this. I also love taking photos of the spectacular plants in flower.
Yesterday I shared a few photos taken on a recent trip to one of our nearest gardens, the Adelaide Botanic Gardens here in South Australia. They are about a fifteen minute stroll from the CBD of our capital city. Today I share a few more photos taken there last spring.
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
No Comments »12th March, 2010; Category: Adelaide, Botanic Gardens, Parks and Gardens, Photos, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Late last year we attended a special food fair in Norwood in suburban Adelaide. After sampling the various wonderful Chinese and southeast Asian food on offer we decided to visit the Adelaide Botanic Gardens for an hour or so. It was a sunny spring afternoon and just right for some photography. I thought I’d share some of my photos today and over the next few days.
I would have liked to have taken more photos but the batteries in my camera went flat. When I went to replace them I found that the spare batteries were also flat. You have days like that! It forced me to relax and enjoy the beautiful environment.
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, South Australia
Bendigo Botanic Gardens
1 Comment »15th January, 2010; Category: Birds, Botanic Gardens, Holidays, Parks and Gardens, Victoria, Zoos
Bendigo Botanic Gardens
On my last visit to Bendigo I had a brief visit to the Bendigo Botanic Gardens. We had on previous occasions stopped here for either morning tea or lunch. Some years ago this was a very pleasant, well mantained park with a pleasing collection of native and exotic plants.
Bendigo Botanic Gardens - Swamp Wallaby enclosure
A feature of the gardens was the large pond – a small lake really – filled regularly by the nearby Bendigo Creek. This lake was home to a wide range of native and introduced water birds, adding to the attractiveness of the park. On this visit however, the lake was completely dry, with no birds.
Centrally located were also several large aviaries containing a range of native and exotic birds. By stretching one’s imagination and generosity of spirit, one could consider calling this a very small zoo. A more accurate description would have been to call it a small fauna park.
Bendigo Botanic Gardens - Swamp Wallabies
On this latest visit I was very disappointed at the poor state of the whole gardens, and the deplorable state of the animal collection. Either you have animals and birds on display in an attractive way – or you have none at all. The sad, run-down condition of the wallaby enclosure spoke volumes. Whoever is in charge either has no interest in the display or no budget to improve things – probably both.
Bendigo Botanic Gardens - Bird aviary
The large ugly looking aviary in the photo above shows the cockatoo enclosure. It was once a monkey cage. at least that would be mildly interesting. The poor parrots in it were quite bored and most of the species represented could easily be seen outside in the natural environment by any amateur birder.
Bendigo Botanic Gardens - Bird aviary
To be fair to the local authorities, the region has been undergoing severe drought conditions over the last decade. The drastic water restrictions meant that the lake could not be filled, nor could the exgtensive lawns be watered much. Many of the exotic plants were showing signs of stress.
Bendigo Botanic Gardens - Sulphur-crested cockatoos
Since my visit the local city council has announced a total revamp, extension and upgrading of the botanic gardens. This is long overdue. The plans can be seen here.
Further reading:
- White Hills Botanic Gardens Bendigo – plenty of background information and photos of the gardens.
- A visit to Bendigo – article on my birding blog
Relaxing in the Botanic Gardens, Canberra
The Botanic Gardens in Canberra is an excellent place to relax
We love visiting botanic gardens whenever we travel, whether that is in our own state or interstate. Perhaps our favourite such garden is the one in Canberra. The Australian National Botanic Gardens are truly magnificent. They are spread over a wide area on the slopes of Black Mountain only a few minutes drive from our capital’s CBD. The walking tracks are all wide and easily negotiated, many of them very suitable for wheelchairs or those who are not all that steady on their feet.
On our last visit our daughter came with us. The last time she visited was many years ago when she was quite young. The gardens themselves were also quite young. She likes the natural environment and loves walking in the Australian bush. She has also walked extensively in Europe and Nepal. This time, however, she was just content to follow us around with the latest book she was reading. As we took photos of the birds and flowers she would find a suitable seat nearby and continue reading.
It was a balmy evening and we were joined by several hundred music enthusiasts. These people came in with their rugs and folding chairs, their picnic baskets and drinks and nibbles. They all settled down for an evening of musical entertainment, a part of their Summer Series of events at the gardens. Even though we didn’t join them, we still enjoyed the jazz ensemble as their music filled the gardens.
Outdoor concert, Botanic Gardens, Canberra
More flowers of the Canberra Botanic Gardens
Flowers, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
The Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra are a wonderful resource for people like us. My wife is a keen grower of Australian native plants – she runs a small nursery – so she is always adamant that we visit any gardens open to the public.
I enjoy looking at the plants and flowers too, especially looking for beautiful flowers to photograph. Parks and gardens also attract plenty of birds, and that is my main interest in visiting them. I write about the birds I see and photograph on my blog called Trevor’s Birding – go on – have a look – I’ll wait here while you look.
Flowers in the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Flowers in the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra