We went to the Benmore Botanic Gardens on our first day of school. They're located on the west coast of Scotland and the site gets about 3 metres of rain per year, so coastal North American trees do quite well there. I felt quite at home amongst all the hemlock and cedar.
Sequoia avenue, planted in 1863
The fernery from above.
Apparently ferneries were all the rage around the 1870's when this one was built. It was the height of the Victorian fern craze or "pteridomania". This building belonged to a rich guy names James Duncan who had an art gallery at Benmore and also built this heated fernery to entertain and impress his guests. It was in a state of disrepair until last May when they started rebuilding it. It's quite impressive now.
The stairs leading to the fernery.
These were all planted this year, so it'll be even more impressive when they've had a few years to fill out.
A liverwort that snuck into the fernery.
Scots pine
Looking back at Dunoon on the ferry ride home.
Fellow plant nerds
Sequoia avenue, planted in 1863
The fernery from above.
The stairs leading to the fernery.
These were all planted this year, so it'll be even more impressive when they've had a few years to fill out.
Scots pine
Looking back at Dunoon on the ferry ride home.
Fellow plant nerds
1 comment:
Looks like we have exported a little bit of Nature Nerding to the old country. Hope you are having a blast. Looks like fun
Post a Comment