Sheffield Botanical Gardens

On Thursday I decided to take a trip up to Sheffield, to visit the Botanical Gardens there. I haven't been on any walks recently because of the heatwave; neither Sybil or myself cope well in high temperatures so we've taken a small break from "big" walks until the Autumn.

I've never been to the gardens before and I discovered them by looking on Google maps, which is how I find a lot of walks such as Silverwood. They are in the west of Sheffield on Clarkehouse Road, and I got there by travelling on the tram to the University of Sheffield stop, then walking down Glossop Road.

One of the ponds

There were quite a few people at the gardens; some sitting outside the cafe, others walking round and quite a few people sat painting or drawing. It must be great to have a talent like that, although saying that I'm not sure I'd have the patience required to be an artist!

Rock garden

I figured summer would be a good time to visit, and I wasn't disappointed. There were flowers of every colour and many smelled delightful too. My flower ID skills aren't the best but I was proud to identify the borage plants, as I have several growing in my own garden this year.

Fountain

I didn't have to worry though as most of the plants and even the trees had labels attached to them giving the common and Latin names.

Although I have forgotten the name of this plant!

A particular highlight of the gardens was the Rose Garden. In the centre was a statue of Pan, Spirit of the woods. There were roses in almost every colour and they smelled lovely.

Rose Garden with Pan statue

Climbing roses

Walking back round the other side of the gardens I came across several tame squirrels. I crouched down and held my hand out and one ran up to me, putting its velvety nose on my fingers searching for a treat. Unfortunately I had nothing to give them but I was more than happy watching them scurry around, playing and foraging.

Friendly squirrel

Then it was off to the glasshouse, a long attractive structure with several themed areas inside. I can recall an Australian garden, Himalayan, a New Zealand section and a cactus garden. There were several huge tree ferns and again, plenty of colour.

Glass Pavilions

Inside the glasshouse

Inside the glasshouse

The gardens are free to enter and the only cost of the day was travelling to get there. I would imagine the plant species will change as the year progresses so there will always be something new to see.

How does your garden grow?

A scorching day here in South Yorkshire, so I've been out in the garden checking on my plants and taking some photos for us all to enjoy. I'm still very much a beginner gardener, so I always consider it a nice bonus if any of my vegetables reach the dinner table. For me, the pleasure is in the growing and I don't mind leaving a bit for the wildlife.

First off we have some peas. I'm usually quite successful with these as they are easy to grow; just give them plenty of water and something to climb up and they will be happy.

Peas

I'm not sure of the variety; I did plant some Kelvedon Wonder but unfortunately the first seeds I sowed rotted due to the late spring. I tried again in pots in the greenhouse, then bought some more from Wilko's (a different variety I think) and they both grew well. Here they are climbing up the netting:

Peas

I have also planted some broccoli and cabbage. This is the first time I've grown these from seed so how they will turn out is anyone's guess, although they seem to be growing fine so far. Here is the broccoli; I think the variety is Calabrese Marathon although the snails have eaten the note I made!

Broccoli

I also have carrots (Amsterdam Forcing and Resistafly), onions (Stuttgarter), potatoes (Maris Piper) and of course plenty of wildlife-friendly plants too. Here is the borage I grew from seed:

Borage

Good for bees

It's very pretty, and the bees love it. I also have a couple of poppies:

Poppy

Another set of seeds I grew were salad leaves. I used as many as I wanted, then let the rest go to seed. The flowers are quite attractive and constantly full of insects, however it's a good job I'm not growing on an allotment or I may well have been told to leave!

Bolted salad

And here's a photo of my dog, just because she's beautiful:

Enjoying the sun

Like my Sybil, enjoy the sun while it lasts!