The pond in sunshine

I can't resist taking photos of the ornamental pond in Benmore Gardens. I went round the far side of it today, to get the sun on the pondweed and the glimpses of red and pink from the flowers on the far side of the water at the end of a perfect afternoon.

The gardens are at their best, in my opinion, when almost everyone has gone home - that's what it was like today, when I think we were the last visitors to leave. For anyone seeing them for the first time, perhaps the most noticeable feature is the contrast between garden and surroundings: this would be beautiful even among city buildings, but cupped in the hills that enfold Loch Eck it is incomparable.