The bright colours of Spring and Autumn have faded and now the park’s skeleton takes pride of place

Winter brings a different beauty to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens.

There is a stark beauty to the gardens when Winter wraps the hillside in it’s moist, wet embrace.

Is it the rich textural bones of the tree trunks or moss-covered boulders that from time to time draws the eye from the more obvious park attractions. Or it could be the stark white trunks of a Silver Birch thicket or the bowed branches of deciduous shrubs? Whatever the revitalised beauty, every aspect adds its own stark beauty to the mist-shrouded landscape.

Today it was very much the stark, interwoven patterns of branches and trunks that caught my eye and that of other photographic orientated imaginations. The charm may be more subtle, but it is definitely still there in the almost empty branches of the deciduous trees.

There was almost a primordial feeling walking with me today as I slogged my way up a water-logged valley to a higher track winding away into the distance, promising visual experiences that you can only imagine.

Even without the bright spray of spring flowers or the rich hues of autumn foliage, there is still a great beauty to Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens in the depth of winter.

Walk slowly with camera in hand and look for contrasting textures of bark or foliage, or the last glint of colour in the rain soaked tress, even the tree tops could be holding a feathered photo opportunity; you just need to be there to make the most of these wintery memories.

Mt Lofty Botanic Garden certainly does have a beauty that is worth the effort of donning a thick winter coat to experience.