I took time out yesterday to visit Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens at Toowong and spent a delightful hour wandering the pathways. Here are a few of the pics I took in my travels.
Home for the native bees
A lovely shaded walk
The next four photographs were taken in the Japanese garden.
There is a fun Children’s Trail with lots of interesting things for them to discover.
Cute forest animals on the Children’s Trail
After you have left the gardens it’s well worth the short drive to the summit of Mt Coot-tha for the magnificent view over Brisbane seen from the advantage point outside the Kuta Cafe. Whilst there you can treat yourself to refreshments. When I arrived a coach had just disgorged the passengers and they all made straight for the ice cream stand. Their cones were enormous and looked pretty good to me. Very tempting, but I settled for a Devonshire Tea.
If you find yourself in Brisbane and have an hour or two to spare Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and the Summit is a lovely way to get “Far From The Madding Crowd”.
Allotment Adventures with Jean 
Jun 12, 2013 @ 20:51:54
Lovely, lovely photo’s 🙂
Jun 13, 2013 @ 04:15:54
Thank you for your kind words Mrs Yub. There were some magnificent trees in the gardens I would like to have posted but my iPhone just couldn’t do them justice.
Jun 13, 2013 @ 03:33:31
I loved all of your photos but was most interested in the bee tree. Steve and I walk past a small group of houses most mornings with the dogs. We get to a certain point and I get overwhelmed by the scent of honey (call me a bear in a past life but my nose knows the smell of honey! 😉 ) and I can’t track it down. I have managed to isolate the scent to a large Eucalyptus viminalis but can’t see where the bees are…the mystery/plot thickens! I might have to look a bit harder because that little black smudgy bit is obviously where the bees enter and exit. I might just be approaching the bees all wrong and I need to point out that we do walk early in the morning when bees are probably pretty sedentary due to the cold… that won’t stop me sniffing that delightful scent every morning 😉
Jun 13, 2013 @ 04:18:50
Hi Fran. I saw a couple of logs/trees in the gardens where native bees had made their home. Interesting. We need all the bees we can get as they seem to be disappearing. I know a few gardeners in Brisbane who now have a native bee hive. My daughter-in-law has a hive, hopefully that will help with pollination. Save going round with the little paint brush in the mornings!
Jun 13, 2013 @ 08:53:10
I love your photos of the Botanical Gardens. I haven’t been there since my children were little but would love to visit the gardens again as they would have changed a lot since then. Lovely blog!
Jun 13, 2013 @ 10:20:37
Thank you for your kind words Nanna Chel. There is lots more I could have photographed at the Botanical Gardens, beautiful trees, but my iPhone camera just wouldn’t have done them justice. And of course you have the fernery, the Planetarium, wedding areas, sensory garden, wedding lawns and rainforest area just to name a few. They also do guided tours daily, and mini-bus tours through the garden. Both free.
Jun 13, 2013 @ 08:54:12
What a gorgeous and tranquil place to spend a day. I never knew there were stingless bees, are they common there?
Jun 13, 2013 @ 10:25:24
Yes Lois, it was a tranquil place to spend time. Australian native stingless bees are becoming very popular around here. I know a number of gardeners who have a hive. They are tiny little insects and the hive takes only a small space. My daughter-in-law has hers at the side of the house. My understanding is you don’t get them for the honey as much as for the pollination. You may find this link interesting on the Australian Stingless Bee.
http://www.aussiebee.com.au/australian-stingless-bees.html
Jun 13, 2013 @ 10:50:57
Thanks Jean I’ll check it out.
Jun 14, 2013 @ 19:45:16
I’ve read about native Australian stingless bees and how they’re being threatened by Africanised Honey bees. It’s good to see that some colonies are being protected!
Jun 16, 2013 @ 06:21:08
It’s sad to stand in the garden and wonder where all the bees have gone Tanya, but there is a movement amongst my gardening friends to have one of these small hives of Australian stingless bees, and we grow flowers amongst our vegetables, all to improve pollination.