Today is the only day of our Easter weekend where the weather was declared to be good enough to get out and do "stuff"... and sure enough, the sky is bright blue and the sun is shining.
I took a very long convoluted route to Kew Gardens (thanks, Network Rail engineering works programme... a doubling of my journey to 2 hours... each way..)
But it was SO worth it... settle back and enjoy.
the Glory of the Snow (I can never remember the Latin name) has come from nowhere in two weeks since I was there.
and there are huge drifts of daffodils - these must be later ones, as lots have gone over
the magnolias against a gorgeous sky - no filters!
close up of the flower centre.
although these look very pretty, there were lots of blooms that have gone brown and discoloured on the trees - not sure why; it's not been frosty; perhaps just the rain?
close up of buds on trees
and the Henry Moore sculpture in the sun
new growth everywhere..
March - Britain - blue sky!
once more the lift up the walkway was closed for repair - I swear it's been out of action more than it's been in use!
but I did climb up the steps! coming down is so much easier...
but you do get good views of the gardens - the Palm House is peeking through these trees!
and you get to see a glimpse of the repairs to the Temperate House...
back down on the ground (obviously!)
hellebores
more daffodils... there were hundreds of people here today, and lots of them walking through the daffodils, posing for photographs. so I waited for a clear spot!
moss covered bark on a big tree
this tree, and the daffodils from the photo above, are these all round the tree
back to the Palm House, with lots of people out enjoying the sunshine!
the flowering cherry is coming into bloom - I expect by the next time I'll be able to get there (I'm busy the next two Saturdays) - it will be past it's best..
and of course I took lots of pictures of my favourite spot in the gardens, the fountain int he Palm House lake. Sparkling in the spring sunshine...
I know you've seen these hundreds of times before, but I love this spot! this one in particular I am really pleased with, it looks as if they are suspended in mid air from nowhere ( I suppose they are, really!)
the dogwood has been cut back, but still provides a great foil for the Palm House
and the spring beds are looking gorgeous
the Palm House beds in particular, love the yellow/purple mix
the waterlily house has also re-opened after it's winter maintenance, this flower is still very small
and I still love the reflection of the roof in the water, made more apparent in the sun, and by the black food dye they use to colour the water to show off the blooms better.
outside the waterlily house, a frilly tulip
and more drifts of daffodils
don't think I've every stopped to photograph this before, it's outside the Princess of Wales glasshouse, bronze sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi
when I came back past later, there were young children climbing over it, which I am sure you're not meant to.....
round the POW glasshouse to the wooded area, lots of different blue flowers, so many different varieties.
and a pretty white magnolia
with something orange peeking through from the next door bed..
inside the Palm House, air plants
towers of bromeliads
and spring planting outside
one last glimpse of blue sky ... time for my long journey home
I would have stopped for lunch because I was very hungry, but the queues were so long I abandoned that idea!
Hope you enjoyed the trip today, do let me know!
9 comments:
WOW! Gorgeous! What an assortment of colour and textures - fabulous!
wonderful piccies again Helen..love those air plants!!
Gosh, I've never seen it so busy with that many people in your photos!! Beautiful as usual and thanks again for sharing and walking up and down all those stairs to share the fabulous views xxx
Wonderful photos & so many gorgeous colours. Thanks for taking the photos, glad you had a great time, despite the hours of travelling.
Beautiful, that magnolia stellata is magnificent x
Oh Helen, I am so glad you braved the long and tedious journey so that we could enjoy these glorious photos. There are so many in this post that take my breath away! I love the airplant....only ever seen small ones but this display is amazing. The frilly tulip is absolutely wonderful...always wanted some of those in my garden! I saw banks of daffodils yesterday too and crocus! Harrogate had them all along the road going in and lilac and white crocus all over The Stray. They looked gorgeous in the sunshine but I was driving so could take pics.
Thanks for sharing your lovely photos once again.
Hugs
Lesley Xx
Thanks for sharing Helen....always nice to see the sun at Kew ;)
xoxo Sioux
Yes the sun does get folk out, and like you, I hate photo bombers! I will wait ages for a clear shot! These photos are fabulous Helen! Love the fountain shots! Hugs, Chrisx
This was thankfully the only post I've missed from Kew. I was so impressed with the field of daffodils. I know they are in bloom everywhere, but this view was spectacular.
I had a magnolia tree at my house in Missouri, but it's a bit too cold where I live now for them to grow without fear of freezing and dying. It's amazing what 250 miles can do when it comes to plants and trees. My blooms occasionally looked like that, too. I suspect the flowers were either old or, as you suggested, got too much rain.
It's too bad about the lift to the walkway was once again closed, but I am much more comfortable going UP than down! I learned I have a bit of vertigo, and I don't look down when I'm going up, but I get disoriented and often fearful, when I'm headed down.
I could barely make out the Palm House, even though I enlarged the photo (as I did all of them), but I was delighted to see the work on the Temperate House was coming along nicely.
I can't believe people actually walk through that field of daffodils. I hope they were careful when they did.
Ah, the cherries are looking wonderful. Are these fruit producing trees? They look like it, because I used to have a cherry tree in my yard in Missouri until it got a disease and had to be cut down. Made fantastic wood for smoking fish and cheese, though.
I can never get enough photos of "your" fountain. It's always beautiful, regardless of the season.
OMGosh, I LOVE the pink and yellow tulips.
I used to have a bathtub I sunk in my back yard in my patio in Missouri (under the magnolia tree, in fact). I put water lilies in it, but NEVER thought to color the water black! What a fantastic tip and a wonderful view, too.
I was truly impressed with the Paolozzi sculpture and hope you will show the entire thing one of these visits. It's very "industrial/techno." I remember seeing some of his collages on loan to WAM (Wichita Art Museum) one year. I remember the wind tunnel collage and another one with a mid-century modern feel. I don't remember their names, though.
I wonder if they give free samples of the asparagus (JOKE).
Ah, the air plants again. I loved them. What a fun time I had with you for Good Friday. It was a gorgeous day and a simply wonderful stroll. Thanks for taking me with you!! I loved every minute of it. But now I must get busy and get back to work.
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