Autumn colours - Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens

When we visited Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens in late autumn this year, the weather was overcast and most of the deciduous tree have shed their leaves. Even so, there were some that were still holding on to their glorious autumn colours, which provided contrast against the native and coniferous trees that remained green. We got dropped off at the top, and the plan was to walk down to the car park at the bottom of the garden.

A single pink Camellia - looking very dainty.

Since it was beginning to drizzle and the winds picking up, the idea was to hit the shortest trail to get to the car park at the bottom. In the haste, we got a little lost. I had no idea where North was and it was an overcast day, hence I couldn't use the sun to guide us. In retrospect, there were clear indicators which could have helped us determine the direction that we were going i.e. by looking at the transmission towers on Mt Lofty, Carminow Castle and with the angle of the hill ridge, but we did not give it any thought.

A nice white Camellia.

Acer with red leaves.

I blame it on the chilly winds as my brain cannot work below 15^o Celsius. No worries as one only needs to keep going down the hillside and will eventually get to the bottom of the park. We started with the rhododendron path, took a turn and were looking at camellias, then maples, there were some ferns at one point, then it was a stand of young eucalypt trees, then magnolias, then coniferous plants and finally we got to the bottom.

A closer look at the Acer. The intensity of the red channel is so high that it was saturated in the photo.

Toadstools on the forest floor.

Going downhill...somewhere. A stand of Eucalypt trees.

Phew! There were some downhill stretches, some uphill and some steep slopes as we cut through from one to another trail. It was a good walk and the sights of the various trees and plants in different colours was very fulfilling for a plant lover like me.

Carminow Castle from the botanic garden. A Scottish baronial style summer house of Sir Thomas Elder, originally built in 1885. It was damaged in the 1983 Ash Wednesday bush fires, and was subsequently restored.

A view of the different colours of the temperate trees through a stand of eucalypt trees.

The Autumn in South Australia becomes a second Spring for many trees and shrubs.

Nice blue needle.

A bench by the beech or is it a beech by the bench?

Naked trees with green conifers and grasses.

The weeping plant reminds me of Sadako of the famous Japanese horror movie The Ring.

The brilliant fruits of Cotoneaster.

Hmmm, is that a Helleborus blooming in autumn?

The reds...

and the yellows.

A lady An oak tree in red.

At the car park down the hill, we were greeted by deciduous trees in various hues of dazzling yellows, stunning orange and brilliant reds, a sight that was well worth the cold and slightly damp walk in the drizzle.