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| Fields at St Fillans. |
Scotland had a lovely couple of weeks around Easter (and everyone we meet tells us so), even though the weather now is like December (raining 38ºF with 20+mph winds for a wind chill of 0ºC) we are seeing some lovely blooms. I thought I would catalog the Scotland show in this post. Sorry I am, says Yoda, that I don't know the names of all the flowers, but I can at least tell you where we spied them.
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| The Rhoddy to the right of the 2nd green at St Fillans GC adds a splash of color. |
Branklyn Garden is a two acre garden in the city of Perth that was once a residential garden and is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The garden is lovely anytime, but it's particularly fetching in the spring when the Himalayan Blue Poppies are in full show. We usually make one or two visits each trip.
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| Steps leading to residential garden in Perth on the walk from the parking lot to Branklyn Gardens. |
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| Yellow Poppy |
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| Peony |
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| The view from the gardens down to the city of Perth. |
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| Himalayan Blue Poppy |
Scotland has a village competition every year selecting the best flowered villages. One of perennial winners of Scotland in Bloom is the tourist village of Pitlochry. From the looks of things their chances are good again this year.
To get to Pitlochry from where we stay in Crieff we have to climb into the Highland foothills through Sma'Glen. There we easily see signs of spring.
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| Roman Bridge in Glen Lyon in the Highlands above Sma'Glen. |
A pleasant short hike at the edge of the Highlands, even in showery weather, is to the Hermitage. The hike is fairly flat and only a third of a mile, but the rewards are well worth it. The falls on the River Braan are best viewed from Ossian's Hall, a view station built in the 18th C. by the Duke of Atholl.
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| Bramble Berry |
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| Fiddlehead Ferns |
Another place to find Scotland in Bloom is in its cemeteries and kirkyards. The flowers are sometimes the cut kind, but often plantings absolutely blossom with life.
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| At Comrie cemetery. |
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| In the cemetery at Wester Fowlis. |
There are many more places we've found Scotland in Bloom this spring even in the few days we've been here, but these don't fit in neat categories--they just are lovely all the same.
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| Endangered Cowslips |
And, of course, there are some things that just aren't ready to bloom.
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| Hedge at Elcho Castle. |
NEXT: Who knows what we'll find.
Branklyn Garden is a two acre garden in the city of Perth that was once a residential garden and is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The garden is lovely anytime, but it's particularly fetching in the spring when the Himalayan Blue Poppies are in full show. We usually make one or two visits each trip.
Scotland has a village competition every year selecting the best flowered villages. One of perennial winners of Scotland in Bloom is the tourist village of Pitlochry. From the looks of things their chances are good again this year.
To get to Pitlochry from where we stay in Crieff we have to climb into the Highland foothills through Sma'Glen. There we easily see signs of spring.
Another place to find Scotland in Bloom is in its cemeteries and kirkyards. The flowers are sometimes the cut kind, but often plantings absolutely blossom with life.
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