Glasgow: Botanic Gardens

On our last full day in Glasgow, we walked around the West End and ended up at the Botanic Gardens. We were taking in the exquisitely fragrant rose garden when we felt a few drops on our heads, and then more. On previous days I’ve taken out my umbrella and then closed it up again within a few minutes. But this afternoon it began to pour. Raincoat hoods went up; mothers and children took shelter under a large tree by the play area. Erik and I made our way as quickly as possible to the Victorian glasshouses (what we at home would call greenhouses) and ducked inside the nearest one.

As the rain began to hammer on the clear glass of the roof, we looked around and discovered ourselves surrounded by begonias. To our right, doors opened out onto a room full of ferns, which in turn opened onto a room full of palms; directly before us, another room contained impatiens, and the room after that, aquatic plants. For an hour or two we wandered the humid glasshouses, I taking photos until my battery ran out amid the carnivorous plants and the koi ponds in the Kibble Palace.

Here are the best few dozen of the two hundred pictures, for your delectation and wonder. As always, click on the images to enlarge, and mouse over to read commentary and names of the plants.

Flowers

Foliage, succulents, cacti, and more

Flora in black and white

Today, we move to Edinburgh.