a stroll around the Gardens

I love the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and I have vowed to go there much more often this year. It is free to get in and you can't beat that with a stick! These pics were taken about 2 weeks ago and pretty much only the tulips and the daffodils and poppies were blooming. I'll go back again the next time I have a day off and the weather cooperates to see what has bloomed since then.

The Gardens has a great bamboo forest the has a trail through the middle. It was shady and cool and the bamboo made great little clacking noises in the breeze. I could have been very happy there with a camp chair and book.

The Japanese garden has not produced any blooms or leaves yet, but is still quite beautiful in its winter look.

These were my favorites of the day and I took my mother back a week later to see them, though they weren't quite as pretty then as they are in these pictures. This is a kind of poppy called Champagne Bubbles :-)

This little fellow (or lady...how does one tell from a glance?) was zooming around the koi pond taking advantage of onlookers generously supplied with bread. He and the fish and turtles were duking it out for prime real estate near the bridge where everyone was standing. My mom and I spent a good 45 minutes sitting on a bench watching the show.

If the city where you live has a botanical park of some kind, make a visit (many visits!) this year and be sure to support them by purchasing something from their giftshop if you can!