My First Visit to Glasgow Botanic Gardens By Anand Sajeevan

I found out about the walk in the botanic gardens through my colleague and I’m so glad that I made time to join it.

It was my first time in the botanics given that I’m also new to Glasgow. It gave me an opportunity to learn more about the city and explore the history behind the botanics and, of course, to explore so many plants that were new to me. The whole walk was organised by CEMVO in collaboration with Friends of Glasgow Botanic Gardens – a big thanks to them!

The weather looked nice and sunny, and the walk took around one hour and a half. The tour guide started off explaining the history behind the gardens and what all we can expect. We then started exploring the gardens bit by bit. As we moved along different varieties of plants, both native and visitors to Scotland caught my attention. Particularly a Chinese species of tree (Ginkgo biloba) which is so resilient that it survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and also survives in Scotland. Another interesting thing I learned is that since Glasgow has a moderate climate, it can sustain plants from other countries where they go through extreme conditions.

We went past a flowered plant (Hebe) where lots of bumblebees were flying around which was fun to watch. Also, it was nice to watch different types of pigeons, and I even spotted a bunny! The underground railway station which is used currently by some bat species was an interesting spot and who would have guessed something like that in a public garden? The big greenhouse where a lot of interesting plants grew was beautiful. The carnivorous plants caught my attention, and there were places where it looked like it’s a wee tropical forest!

The walk made me connect with nature which I always enjoy and took me back to some memories from my childhood back in my home village in Kerala, India, when I used to stare at some random grass with dew drops for a long time until my mum cut me off.

The walk ended with a lovely lunch and chat, and I think I’m going back to that place for sure!