April was full of surprises. Last week, with the forecast looking rather wet, I spent an afternoon sketching under the glass dome of “The Dry Room” at the University of Zurich’s Botanical Gardens. The warm palette of the desert plants made me forget the grey sky outside.

Happily absorbed in drawing the Echinocactus grusonli’s (I didn’t make that up) spikey bits and the Opunita robusta’s (my favourite) funky shapes – I barely noticed that the rain had stopped and the room was not only dry, it was downright toasty.

Located near Seefeld, you can visit the Botanical Gardens year round for free. The spot attracts the most ameniable people. I spoke with the gardener about his favorite plants and enjoyed a coffee – always sketch within reach of a coffee shop – with a gentleman who visits regularly to photograph the subtle changes even just a few days can make.

The grounds are beautiful and next time I’ll take a pic nic and have a snooze in the grass between sketches! Unless it’s raining. If it does, I’ll be back in The Dry Room with the Parodia magnifica from Brazil and the Copiapopa cinera from Chile.