Adelaide - Botanic Gardens

My sister Anne and I went for a walk in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens on an absolutely beautiful day.

 The gardens were started in 1855 which would make them very old by Australian standards.

 The colours really stand out in the strong Australian sun.

 All across Australia there are monuments or plaques honoring the US soldiers who fought in WWII.

 Much of the gardens are in European style but the plants are mostly Australian natives.

 A magpie. I was just reading that they have still not discovered why they will attack some people but not others. They used to attack me when I was young and I reckoned it was because I had blonde hair.

 That is an old tree.

 The building in the background houses a rain forest exhibit.

 The side of the building looking up.

 Inside the rain forest.

 I was generous and threw notes instead. Not really.

 Quite a few of these red flowered plants were out in bloom.

 I'm not quite sure how they get these things to grow. I've never seen seeds for them.

 A magnificent avenue of Moreton Bay Fig trees. These had very tall trunks compared to what I am used to in Brisbane.

 Anne was particularly keen to go inside the Santos Museum of Economic Botany which she heard had been refurbished.

 Once inside, I could understand why. It was magnificent. All of the ceiling is original.

 Most of the exhibits are plants, seeds used for commercial purposesetc.

 Different varieties of wood.

 I'm not much of a plant enthusiast but it was interesting to look at all the different varieties.

 They had some kind of kaleidoscope where the colours changed all the time. I placed the camera lense up against the eyepiece and just took images.

 The pause that refreshes. Coopers is the only traditional Australian brewery that is not owned by the major brewing companies.

 Another magpie came to investigate.

 A glasshouse containing succulents.

 I liked this cactus with its green spikes.

 Anne said she had wondered why people grew this plant and now she understands why. For most of the year it looks pretty ugly.

Next time Marianne is back in Adelaide, she will be going to the gardens whether she wants to or not. They were very good.