I loved wandering through so many different gardens in Tasmania.

From the Australian natives at the Brickendon Estate Gardens and the lavish rose gardens at Woolmers Estate, to the country charms of Armytage House and the staggering scale of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, I enjoyed them all.

Not only for their beauty and inspiration, but for the sheer delight of not having to do any of the work myself.

I love gardening. Hours spent in my gardens are among my happiest moments as I tend and feed and nurture.

But gardening is also a lot of hard work, resulting in blisters, scrapes, aches, and bruises, stings from nettles and bites from bugs.

So it’s awfully nice to stroll along paths I don’t need to tidy, among garden beds I don’t have to weed, under wondrous trees I can simply enjoy without any urge to prune.

The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens are vast and peaceful with meandering trails that curve around reflective pools and beside lacy waterfalls.

The brick-walled sections delighted me so much, seeming to have been lifted right off the pages of A Secret Garden.

The walls make them feel secluded and safe, hidden oases for contemplation and peace.

It was the beginning of Autumn as we ambled through the gardens, and there were signs of the changing seasons everywhere. In fallen leaves that crunched underfoot, chestnuts almost ready to harvest, and flowers transitioning to seed pods.

I especially liked the moss-covered rocks that lined the pathways.

It was the one cloudy, rainy day we experienced in Tasmania, and it made me happy to bundle up in my favourite sweater and pashmina and wander at my leisure, grateful for cool, dampness and lush greenery after a long dry, hot summer back home.

It grounded and calmed me in body and soul.

Where is your favourite place to wander? xo