Hello everyone! Welcome back to Beastieland… We’ve missed you! And just to show that I haven’t spent the last couple of weeks sitting on the sofa eating crisps (well, not all of them), I’ve got a brand new Explorer Beastie adventure to share over the next two posts. Where did we go? Well, when the sun breaks through the rainclouds here in Dublin, one of the nicest places to be is the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.
So, if you go down to the woods today…
… You’ll see BEASTIES!
Explorer Beastie wasn’t the only monster in the gardens that day, either. Check out this spooky tree we found, with what looks like eyes all over its trunk!
Our Botanic Gardens aren’t especially big – they’re nowhere near as massive as Kew Gardens, for instance. But there are lots of quiet hideaways and secret corners where a little monster can relax and enjoy being outdoors among the plants.
We both really liked the Chaintent, with its human-sized benches and twisty wisteria branches for a Beastie to climb!
Even as summer here draws to a close, there are plenty of bright blooms to enjoy too. The hydrangeas are very much in flower!
Next, we made our way down to the lily pond.
There are still enough lily pads on the surface that Explorer Beastie figured he could cross to the other side by walking over them, but I encouraged him to use the picturesque bridge instead.
And further on… HERE BE MONSTERS!
Monster trees, that is.
I’m not exactly sure what species it is – I couldn’t see a sign or tag near it. Anyone want to help us out here?
As I tried to figure out the identity of the mysterious giant tree, Explorer Beastie decided to have a go at climbing it.
I think we’re going to be here a while.
So, I headed off to take a look at the herbaceous border. It’s a riot of colour at this time of year, and is humming with insects making the most of the last days of summer.
Wait, what’s that?
It’s a bit hard to see among all those yellow flowers but…
Yes, it’s a BumbleBeastie!
I followed her until she landed on a nice purple thistle, where I could get a clearer photo.
Then Explorer Beastie found us.
“Hello! Want to join us for lunch?”
“Love to, but I’m soooooo busy! You’re welcome to stick around while I work though… If you can keep up!”
She wasn’t kidding. She must have visited every flower in that border!
We even met some of her six-legged insect counterparts along the way.
We left her tucking into some lamb’s ear – a favourite bee treat!
I wonder who else might be in the Botanic Gardens today? You’ll have to join us next time to find out!
PS If you can keep up with their hectic pace, you can adopt a BumbleBeastie of your very own. Have a look in the Beastie Store!
“
It’s our old buddy 
“Ooooh, check this out!”
It’s almost possible for Beasties to get lost in among all that colour. Can you spot them?
The treetop walkway is really spectacular… But the boys really had to hold on tight! It was a little breezy up there!
“Look, it’s the Temperate House! It was closed 
… Just in time to take the stepping stone path across the bog garden’s lake!
