Wednesday 3 June 2015

Princes Street Gardens

If you work near a park then having lunch in that park is one of the easiest ways of fitting a bit of nature into your day.

When I worked in the centre of Edinburgh I would have lunch every day (unless it rained) in Princes Street Gardens. Yes even in winter! It's something I still do, if I happen to be in that part of town at lunchtime. So for today's challenge for 30 Days Wild, I visited Princes Street Gardens.

Princes Street Gardens is in the centre of Edinburgh and has a fascinating history. It is below street level and has great views of Edinburgh Castle


and plenty of trees, my favourites of which are the weeping ash trees with their wonderful shapes

At this time of year there's also an excellent display of rhododendrons and azaleas



There were quite a few bees and wasps flying round in the blooms. I followed a common carder bee as it worked its way from flower to flower, though sadly the photos didn't turn out well, this is about the best one I got

The gardens are full of birds, including chaffinches, like this one which was singing in front of the castle

So all in all it's a lovely place to unwind over lunchtime and it's close enough to many workplaces for lots of people to enjoy in that way. Actually on warm summer days it often feels overcrowded!

Just along the road from Princes Street Gardens is the much smaller Atholl Cerscent Garden. It's nice to see the council here adopting a relaxed policy to mowing the grass so that the buttercups and other wild flowers can grow and provide food for bees and other insects.


How do you spend your lunchtime?

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14 comments:

angela recada said...

What a lovely place to linger! You are incredibly fortunate to have such a beautiful city park with so many trees and flowers and benches. I also love that the grass and wild flowers are allowed to grow at the smaller park for the bees and insects to enjoy. We've tried to do that in our own back garden, too.

When I was a child and young adult I spent enough time in Europe to learn to appreciate such beautiful public spaces. Now that I am older and live in the sprawling suburbs of the American Midwest, I can only dream of such places. Instead of the heady fragrance of wildflowers, I'm often accosted by the noxious odor of bee-killing pesticides. :(

Ian Doyle said...

Nice post, great photos. I've been to Edinburgh twice and on both occasions I sat in this park.

Nice way to spend your lunch hour.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I was lucky in that my old workplace sponsored a Notts Wildlife trust - Martins Pond - right on the door steap and I used to head there many a day. Some whopping big dragonflies would visit!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Hi Angela, yes, we are lucky, Edinburgh council isn't well respected for its planning decisions,especially recently, but it is usually good at looking after our parks and public gardens

Thanks Ian, definitely a nicle place for lunch

Simon - that sounds great, dragonflies at lunchtime would be wonderful!

eileeninmd said...

Lovely park, looks like a pretty spot for a walk. I love the blooms and the chaffinch.

TexWisGirl said...

so beautiful!

Bill said...

You almost make me want to go back to work, if I could find the right job near the right park.

Louise said...

It looks lovely!

Rambling Woods said...

Great way to spend some time....

Pietro Brosio said...

Fantastic park, it's amazing that the park is in the center of Edinburgh. Very beautiful images!

Caroline Gill said...

A delightful post. Thank you, Juliet! I have only just discovered that 'Scottish' Carder Bees are a different shade to their southern siblings - apparently (see here). As for my lunch, well, often watching the Silver Birch, with birds flying to and fro. I always think I 'know' the Robin, but we may have several! Thank you for your ladybird comment.

Magyar said...

__How could anyone -not- appreciate this garden and your guiding photos_? Grand, it places the city... far away_! _m

princes street
its garden surrounds us all
a far city

Lynn said...

Such a lovely place! I remember it from my visit to Edinburgh one long ago June. People had blankets spread out and were picnicking there. It's so green there right now!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I I caught up on the posts I've missed since the month started ... The challenge is a great idea and I enjoyed every one of your posts .... I look forward to more. Interesting to contrast the lushly beautiful park in this post and the city flowers blooming in the cracks in another one. You can enjoy nature in so many different kinds of places without having to plan a special "field trip".... How well you are meeting the challenge.