Saturday, August 26, 2017

Bank Holiday at Kew..

.. despite the best efforts of Network Rail and their extensive engineering works I made it to Kew for my usual walk/photography session!   More amazingly, for a British Bank Holiday, in warm sunshine!!

 starting point as ever, the dahlias have really bushed out in the 2 weeks since my last visit

 8am reflections in the pond

 the planes flying into Heathrow were constant and noisy and made great plane trails!

 the Broad Walk, deserted so far... took a walk along the length to see what was changing

 light was shining through plants
 dew was glistening on petals....
 love how the dew nestles in perfect droplets around the edges of the alchemila mollis and in the dips too

 bees were busy

 blooms shining translucently



 got to love the umbellifera

 vibrant colour combinations...
 the bees loved them
 more water droplets

 off to the Hive... love the shadows of the wildflowers on the rusty panels
 the sun behind the Hive and two girls lying on the glass...











they've mowed (or scythed, probably) most of the wildflower meadow round the Hive, but one side still has some colour..
 down to the lower level, I looked up to see the two girls still lying on the glass layer - you can see through to the "hole" in the top of the hive
 beautiful blue sky, more plane trails..
 seed heads

 vegetables and flowers in combination..
 overhanging borders
 in the alpine house..
 fluffy grasses


so many tiny flowers on the artemsia
 wide angle of the grass garden
 more fluff!
 walking through the rock garden towards breakfast!


 reflections and shadows on the way











lots of misting going on, today is forecast to be hot
 green shade
 more plane trails, the skies over Kew are so busy into Heathrow, today was noisier than every, bank holiday travel I guess..
 up the Treetop Walkway (climbed the stairs up and down this time, no cheating and taking the lift) - views through the long zoom
 an Wembley arch (this is the national football stadium for the non Brits) in between the tower blocks
 a "Julia" shadow walking down the stairs (put the bag down to avoid the bulges!)
 you know I love the rusty structure of the Walkway
 the rose garden, still with lots of colour...
 huge hibiscus in the Palm House

the heat was intense in here, they mist regularly and had obviously just done so
 out into the fresh air again,
 couple more of the Palm House at ground level

 into the Waterlily House, there was another of these strange things again.  But someone to ask this time, it is a Bitter Melon  or also called  Melon Gourd (he gave me the Latin name which really didn't help and nor can I remember it!)  so now we now!


 outside the Waterlily house
 my favourite  fountain, of course, in the sun

the rill outside the Princess of Wales glasshouse...


hope you've enjoyed your early morning walk again, there'll only be a few more of these before this special early opening finishes for the year  - just till the end of September, so we must make the most of it!


5 comments:

sam21ski said...

Looks like you had a lovely walk around the gardens of Kew and found some fabulous colour waves on your travels xx

craftimamma said...

Seemed to be a very special sparkly sort of brightness this morning Helen. Possibly the bright sun and all those dew droplets but whatever it was the photos are wonderful. I love those tall fluffy white things near the beginning of your post and the hibiscus is perfection! The fluffy grasses are gorgeous too. Of the photos I think my favourite today is the one of the dew on the edges of the alchemila mollis....just so pretty!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Sally H said...

Thanks for a lovely tour of Kew, Helen! Pleased you had such gorgeous weather for your walk! Beautiful photos as always xxx

Etsuko said...

Thank you so much Helen. Your photography skills are truly amazing , I love many pics they are so beautiful. I enjoyed it all photos even staying here. xxx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I left you a long message, then somehow deleted it just as I was ending. I'll try to remember as much as possible. I can see why you told me to take my time getting here, because it was truly a remarkable post with some fabulous photos.

I started by saying how lovely the dahlias were now that they are in full bloom. They certainly have filled out the beds. I really like how they compliment the purples and yellows.

I loved the bee photo on the yellow flower. You created a magical photo with this one. Great foreground and not too blurry background. I thought it was prize winning, personally. Of course, your bee photo with the pink flower showed great depth of field.

OK, those photos of the girls in the hive were truly surreal. Seriously!

I don't think I've ever seen the Rock Garden, or at least not that many photos of it. I was truly impressed and have often considered doing something like that in my front garden. On a much smaller scale, of course!

I was especially drawn to the Grass Garden with the Alpine House in the background.

I enjoyed the beautiful photos of London from the top of the Treetop Walkway. Thanks for explaining the Wembley Arch, too. I can't begin to imagine living that close to Wembley Stadium as the people in the two high rises.

I'll end by saying how much I adore the rust on the Treetop Walkway, too. Truly fabulous photos for your bank holiday trip to Kew.