The extensive area of limestone rockery beside the Alpine House is a fairly new feature and looked rather pretty with lots of little pops of colour among the grey, like a tapestry. Some of those plants and the more delicate alpines are also on show in the glasshouse itself, where you can get up close and marvel at the intricacy of these species.
I was delighted to see some of the cacti in bloom. The pincushion cactus above seemed aptly named. I can't remember what those below are called but aren't they cute? Like tiny birds nestling there. (The surrounding gravel is the same size as in the picture above... I got close in with my macro lens. These were really miniature specimens.)
Elsewhere in the garden, I always love the imaginative colour combinations they manage to achieve by careful placing of different plants. The soft blue-green of the new shoots on a conifer looked amazing against the maroon/mulberry coloured leaves of the acer behind.
The russet foliage of another acer, with the light behind it, was breathtaking against the soft green backdrop. It was such a bright day that I could have done with a polariser on my lens to cut down the glare, but I don't have one that fits my new pocket camera.