Six on Saturday: Botanic Gardens in Autumn

I’m cheating a bit this week. I was travelling again for work at the start of the week, and today, Saturday, am busy with non-gardening out-of-the-house activities. So I thought I would share with you a few moments from my walk home from work through the Botanic Gardens on Friday, just before 5pm. It is dark when I walk to work in the mornings right now, and walking home the light is already beginning to fade, hence the early evening ‘gloom’ (for want of a better word) these pictures. I also hope this post shows what is happening in this part of the world at this time of the year. Thanks once again to The Propagator for allowing us to share what is going on in our gardens.

First up, notes on what is happening in the gardens, from bulb planting to lawn renovation. The 150 at the top refers to the 150 years of the gardens in Wellington.

As you can see, the light was fading, but I hope this picture is clear enough for you to see how green things still are even though it is autumn. I guess since I spent most of my life in Northern Europe, I still marvel at this.

More mushrooms! They can be spotted everywhere right now. You just have to keep your eyes open and watch where you are walking.

There is a beautiful gingko tree that sits on the new meadow area that I pass every day. It starts to turn golden yellow at the top, and will gradually become that colour from top to bottom before losing its leaves completely. Note the beehives next to it.

As you’ll see below, there are parts of the garden where it really looks like autumn. The tree trunk you can see lying on the ground, forms part of an old oak tree, which of course is shedding its leaves. Just behind where this picture was taken, is the stunning camellia which forms the featured image at the top of the post. It is in full bloom right now, and is in stark contrast to the autumnal leaves next to it.

And here are the leaves…..

This Sunday, 26 May, is Botanic Gardens Day Australia and New Zealand. Even if you don’t live down here, why not visit your local gardens this weekend?

So that’s it from me. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s beautiful gardens!

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram@thistleandkiwis.  As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days.  If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com