Scotland’s flagship botanic garden, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is, contrary to its name not entirely based in the city of Edinburgh. The collection is split across four sites: Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan and Benmore, each having their own specialties. Benmore, set within the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, is distinguished by its mountain character, and high rainfall (>2000mm) which makes it such…
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A glimpse of Victorian Scotland
A change of scene (and country) for my next posts, which will be taking you to Scotland. The first stop on our trip is the Isle of Bute, a tiny piece of land located 30 miles West of Glasgow. Bute is usually reached by a ferry which arrives in the delightful town of Rothesay. This is the…
Ten days in Vietnam part 4: Mount Fansipan, 2250m to 2800m
After at light lunch at the first camp, we set back towards the second camp where we will spend the night. The sun comes out, and makes the mountain look magnificent: In open areas, we start noticing more and more bamboo species, some compact and shrubby, others much larger and spreading. Trees include large Magnolia, red-petioled Daphniphyllum…
Ten days in Vietnam part 1: Hanoi
Our last long-haul and almost disastrous holiday was in 2011 in Indonesia. This year, we spent a lot of of time trying to determine what would be the best destination. Vietnam sounded like a reasonably good choice: tasty food, decent climate and interesting plants (many of which are being grown in UK gardens). We spent…
An island of flowers – Part 9 (the end): By the mountain and the sea
Thanks to our absolutely wonderful host in Madeira (no publicity intended, but someone might need it one day :D), we did get a second tour of the island, this time without German grannies. This was also a more adventurous one, taking local routes with spectacular views. Not sure the car enjoyed them as much as we…
An island of flowers – Part 2: the parks of Funchal
As you’ve discovered in my previous post, the flora of Madeira, in particular its capital city Funchal is very diverse. This is reflected in the numerous parks scattered in the city, and the most famous example is probably the Jardim Municipal. Located in the touristic heart of Funchal, it was established in 1878 on the…
If it moves, ID it; and if it stays still, ID it too! #BioBlitz! Wisley and Ockham Commons @SurreyWT
Originally posted on Web of Life:
457 Species and counting! I love Bioblitz! Not all of my time is spent out and about on Surrey’s rivers or wetlands searching for the illusive otter and water vole, or creeping along my beloved hedgerows for dormice, stoat or orange-spotted elm-lichen. So when the moment arrives when I…
