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

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

Daisy, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

We always enjoy visiting botanic gardens, no matter where they are. We have found over the years that most gardens have an excellent range of plants and flowers which keeps my wife interested. I also enjoy taking photos of the flowers. An added bonus is the often prolific bird life, which interests me. I use my observations to write about on my birding blog.

One of the best – arguably the very best – such garden is the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. We have visited these gardens on every occasion we have been to Canberra. In 2007 we spent a whole day there and only covered about half the gardens.

In this post I will feature some of the flowers I photographed on our visit earlier this year. (You can see other flower photos in the posts published in the previous few days, and also in the coming few days.)

Flowers, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Flowers, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Kangaroo Paw flower, Australian National Botanic Gardens

The Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra are worth a visit at any time of the year. We have visited on a every occasion we have been to Canberra and never tire of these magnificent gardens.

Set on the slopes of Black Mountain and only a short distance from the heart of Canberra, these extensive gardens are a tribute to our wonderfully diverse and beautiful plants and flowers. Most of the paths are very easy walking but some can be a little steep. Many are wheel chair friendly which makes walking for the rest of us a breeze.

I enjoy the bushland setting of the gardens; you forget that you are a five minute drive to the centre of our capital city. The birdlife is prolific with many wonderful species. They are used to people in large numbers, so photographing them I find very rewarding. There is always something flowering too, and I enjoy getting photos of the many plants in flower.

Eastern Spinebill on Kangaroo Paw flowers, Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Kangaroo Paw flower, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Sturt Desert Pea, Australian National Botanic Gardens

After our short holiday in Sydney last year we drove to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. We were visiting friends of our daughter. After unloading the car we had a few hours in the afternoon free so we decided to head over the the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

These botanic gardens would have to be our favourite such garden in Australia. On our last visit in 2007 we spent a whole day there. This time we only had a few hours on a beautiful summer’s afternoon and evening.

I had a great time photographing birds and flowers. My wife concentrated on the plants only while our daughter found several comfortable seats to read a book.

Banksia flower, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Flower in the fern gully, Australian National Botanic Gardens

Nodding Blue Lily (Stypandra glauca)

Our interstate holiday

September 2007

I’ve had a short break from writing on this blog over the New Year. I’ve not been well for most of that time. Over coming days and weeks I intend writing about the remainder of our interstate holiday in the eastern states of Australia. I will include many of the lovely photos taken at the time.

The day we left Canberra the weather turned cold. As we travelled south from our capital city the air temperature dropped rapidly. Although it was well into spring, we were travelling through the highest ranges in Australia. The area south of Canberra is often snow covered for a large part of the winter and into spring. The last time I visited this area was around New Year some thirty years ago. There was even a heavy snow fall at Christmas time that year.

Coopracambra National Park, Victoria

This time we didn’t see any snow, but going by the cold wind it sure wasn’t far away. We had a long distance to travel the day we left Canberra. Although we would have loved to have spent far more time exploring this part of the country, we were running out of days. The route we took gave a quick overview of a large part of Victoria we had never visited before. We decided that we have to correct that anomaly in the near future. The southern coast of eastern Victoria is worth several months of exploration.

As we travelled on into Victoria we dropped in altitude right down to sea level. The wind was bitterly cold and scudding showers made lunch and cuppa breaks uncomfortable. This one day was the only really bad weather day we experienced for the whole trip, so I shouldn’t grumble.

Coopracambra National Park, Victoria

Gang-gang Cockatoo

Our holiday in Canberra

September 2007

One of the main incentives I had for spending a whole day in the Australian National Botanic Gardens was to do some serious birding. The day we spent there was a beautiful sunny day but the birding was rather quiet. You get days like that. Despite that I managed to see a nice range of birds, I added a new species to my life list (the amazing Powerful Owl) and added photos of several species to my growing collection of bird photos, including the beautiful Gang-gang Cockatoo (see my photo gallery here).

Red Wattlebird

It is a pity that we only had one day in these lovely gardens. If we lived in Canberra we would be very frequent visitors. The changing seasons would not only be great to see the ever changing variety of birds, it would also be great to see the different plants flowering at different times of the year.

Further reading:

• Lunch time visitors – birds that came to our picnic lunch
• Pied Currawongs – one of the common birds of the gardens
• Gang-gang Cockatoo -more information about this wonderful parrot

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Bearded Dragon

Our holiday in Canberra

September 2007

When we went to visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra I went to see the plants and flowers and the bird life. I didn’t expect to be watching reptiles, nor did I expect to be able to get some great shots of them.

Eastern Bearded Dragon

The Eastern Bearded Dragon I had seen many times before. Bearded Dragons are resident in our garden at home.

This was the first time I had seen a Gippsland Water Dragon. It was minding its own business sunning itself on a rock just above a large pool of water, one of the many featured in the botanic gardens.

Gippsland Water Dragon

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Our holiday in Canberra

September 2007

We had a short holiday in Australia’s national capital Canberra earlier this year. It had been many years – over 30 – since our last visit. Consequently there was quite a deal of anticipation in reacquainting ourselves with this beautiful city. One of the main attractions this time around was to visit the floral display at Floriade 2007. I’ve written extensively about this festival of flowers here.

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

The National Botanic Gardens in Canberra are well set out and beautifully maintained. Although some sections are a little hilly, the paths are very easy to negotiate and are extremely wheel-chair friendly, which makes it very easy for the rest of us. The tranquil setting on the slopes of Black Mountain is a great place to relax, watch the birds, study the flowers or just take time out from a busy life.

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Our holiday in Canberra

September 2007

During our visit to Canberra earlier this year we spent a whole day at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. This time was particularly enjoyable to my wife and her interest in Australian native plants. Her camera was kept busy all day taking photos for her reference library. Annoyingly she discovered that the memory card in her camera failed to download the photos that night, so she lost some valuable shots. We have since replaced the card.

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Further reading:

• My first Powerful Owl sighting – a special bird seen in the botanic gardens
  
• Lazy lizards – photos of several lizards we saw in the botanic gardens in Canberra
• One bird that finally sat still – about getting a good photo of an Eastern Spinebill for the first time
• Close encounters of the bird kind – up close and personal with a Red Wattlebird
• 
  

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra