Visiting Branklyn Garden in Perth
I’ve been wanting to go to Branklyn Garden at this season for two years now, and we finally managed it! Was it worth the wait? Definitely.
I particularly wanted to go at this time of year in order to see the Himalayan blue poppies, or meconopsis, for which the garden hosts the National Collection. Poppies are beautiful flowers anyway of course, with their big papery petals and delicately drooping heads, but when they’re also bright blue? Stunning.
That was really my only expectation for Branklyn Garden, apart from a desire to have tea and scones on the terrace, a wish which we duly fulfilled. I must say this, like everything else here, surpassed my imagination, with fabulous views over the rock garden, a fountain playing behind us, charming cups and saucers, and what tasted like homemade jam. It was just blissful.
So much for what I expected, but there was also lots that I didn’t. My favourite part of the garden was probably the little waterfall and stream, surrounded by trees and plants that we came to early on, but there were loads of other things too. So many beautiful blooms, from the blowsy and flamboyant rhododendrons to the tiniest of shy little alpine flowers, there was colour and life everywhere.
The garden is laid out in one main loop, with lots of charming narrow paths threading back and forth between them. There’s something to see down each one of these, and so you end up spending sometime exploring and making sure you’ve got them all. There’s benches dotted throughout so you can sit and really take in the different areas.
The staff were really friendly and helpful and so rightly proud of their beautiful garden, which is run by the National Trust for Scotland. One thing to be aware of is that it is built on a hillside and there’s a few steps to reach the top part, so it’s not the most accessible by its nature, however the lower paths are more so and there is a few parking spaces for the disabled just outside the gates. Other parking is a short walk away in Fairmont Terrace.
Our tickets cost £8.50 each, with concessions and family tickets available. We loved every moment and will definitely be returning in the autumn, when we’ve been told it looks equally stunning but in a different way. For now though, I’m so thrilled I finally got to see the Himalayan poppies, and so much more that I wasn’t expecting.