Back for the Butterflies

I decided at the last minute (i.e when I woke up) to definately go to Kew again yesterday - just needed to check the forecast - to see the butterflies again, and also the new "South Africa " landscape in the parterre beds outside the Palm House - they only finished planting on Friday (according to the Kew twitter page I follow!)  So, off I went.

Amazingly I wasn't first in the queue - I normally am! but I stood and ate my breakfast (M&S cheese scone) whilst I waited for them to open.

Outside the gates is an oval bed that for the last couple of years they've planted with wild flower seed - and they are just blooming now. I hope to get to see them again at their peak, but the next couple of weekends are busy!  However, I love the poppies and cornflowers mixed in with these yellow daisies.

At the back of the Palm House they have replanted their rose beds and these too are looking stunning

The newly planted parterre obviously needs time to develop over the next few weeks but I loved the orange of these (I think they're Gazania, looking at the plantlist on the Kew website) - they will be stunning.   Perhaps I'll have a birthday trip back there again next Saturday!!

On to the butterflies. They have even got some hatching out amongst the flowers "au naturel" as it were, as well as inside the case

I was desparate to catch these beauties with their wings open but my reactions were too slow, as they are the beautiful blue ones I saw last time. 

However, further round the glasshouse, there was one posing gorgeously (?!) on this flower. I took several to make sure at least one was in focus (even with the autofocus on!) and that I wasn't too close (not a very good judge of distance and trying to work out that I am the right distance for the macro facility was a bit much when also trying not to miss the butterfly!)  Isn't it gorgeous!

And I don't think we'd better ask what these two were up to - and in broad daylight, in front of children, lol!!