Autumn's coming...

Just a few more weeks of the early openings at Kew (must admit I am looking to not waking up so early on a Saturday, even if it is worth it!) 
The sky - you know how much I like skies!  was gorgeous as I left home just before 6.30...

 and in the other direction, the sun was making the blocks glow -

ok, let's go catch a train..

 cloud and no sun - it disappeared from a promising start...

 three swans sailing across the pond

walking round the pond, it almost looks black and white in this pic.   love it.

 someone asked one week whereabouts the round beds are... one each end of the pond on the other side of the path to the Palm House..

 glint of light on the glass in the Palm House...
sun not coming out though..

 all to myself...

 gorgeous sky again

 the little alliums are going over  - still pretty though

 things are definitely turning autumnal...

 still loving the fading echinachea

 the white varieties are still quite gorgeous

 alstroemeria lillies looking striking with asters and knipfoia in the background

 no dew this morning, at all (except on the grass)

not many bees first thing this morning - I think perhaps they too are reluctant to get up early in the cooler less sunny mornings!!

 rounding the end of the Broad Walk, one of the drifts of Rudbeckia still looking fantastic...

 up to the Hive now, the light - can't really call it sun!  through the structure and reflecting on the glass floor - caught my eye

 come on, sun. you can burn through the cloud...











from the Hive I headed round to the family beds..

a huge tree on my right made me pause - I've seen it frequently obviously, but never really looked at it -  I always thought it was a tree that had fallen but was still growing..


this time I noticed the label naming it Weeping Beech... that will explain that then!!


It is massive.   I'll try and get a picture of the whole thing next time

Definite signs of changing seasons on the trees - these leaves are turning quite reddy.

I had a surprise at the family beds though - 

all the roses on the pergola had been removed...




but there is a reason!

they never stop trying to improve things

 but there is still plenty of colour here

 cut through to the rock garden..

 glimpses of red in amongst the bullrushes (couldn't get close enough to the sign to see what they are though)

 the grass garden is looking good,












went and had a closer look at the statue

love the wrinkles in his boots



I think I've said before, how great this would be in Powertex!

 more echinachea, these ones have really fading "skirts" 

 couldn't see what this was

 teasels

 after detouring with the teasels I went back through the grass garden to head back towards coffee and cake time!

 I love this time of year with so much changing in the tree colours

 the swans were still on the pond, a family of ducks rippled in front of this one..

 always love this reflection

 still warm enough to eat outside

 from there I headed towards the Temperate House past more changing trees...

 lots of berries on the holly trees.. (bushes) 

some red, some orange

 as I got to the lake at the mid way point (where the Sackler crossing bridges it) I thought there wouldn't be much in the way of reflection..



but I was wrong.    This is fast becoming one of my favourite parts of my visits.

I crossed the bridge and turned right...

 not before getting carried away with reflection pics..


I watched some tiny baby moorhen (or perhaps coots, I always get them muddled) - they were bobbing under the water as if hiding from the lens...

and coming up feet away, so that I couldn't capture them well..

they had such pretty faces too!








look, so small! 

 the pair of swans were in the same spot as always



as I said, I turned right and walked to the end of the lake nearest the Palm House (still a way away however) 

as I passed the tree where the Lockerbie bomb benches are, I noticed a dried out holly wreath (it having happened just before Christmas of course)
under one of the benches...


I love that it's been left there for - who knows how long

 there was a little sun now, glinting through the trees...






I carried on walking round the other side of the pond, going in a circle

I can't decide which is a better photograph, portrait or landscape format, so you get both!



I love all the greens, with the purple foreground and hint of orange in some of the trees...

 no sign of the heron at the head of the lake today...

off fishing somewhere no doubt...

 this acer is fittingly called Winter Gold

 fruit (flower?) on a Chinese Dogwood...

 walking up Cedar Vista past the small pond, which is like the lake, covered in green slime!

 through the tree trunks, behind the hedge, the working part of Kew, greenhouses and poly tunnels with things growing...

 a huge clump of acid green/yellow

 and a mass of fading hyndrangeas


these ones in dusky pink were fabulous

 you may remember this view from last year when they had the silk funghi hangings in the trees...

 the pagoda

one of the dragons (they'll be here a bit longer) 

I was trying to get it so you could see the real Pagoda in the background, but they've placed it so you can't! 

 so many berries abounding

 lace- cap hydrangea by the Japanese garden

 I suddenly realised there are lots of trees here that change colour in autumn, so popped over for a look...

better to come is the verdict!

 yep, definitely autumnal!

 walked round the foot of the Pagoda, it was just opening (10.30 already!)

but decided not to queue for a ticket

 walking back to the Temperate House now



Cotoneaster smothered in berries

 just inside the Temperate House,
this looks like a lily but isn't... didn't spot the name

 turning at the entrance, the prunus are definitely turning colour!

it was still reasonably empty so not too many bodies in my way!!

 this is cascading over the path..

love the soft red colour

 glory bush

 with soft fluffy unopened flowers

in one of the intersecting pentagons between the sections of the Temperate House, a large tub with a satsuma in full fruit has appeared!

 the sun was almost peeking out when I got back to the Rose Garden

to the left, more signs of autumn....

 my favourite time of year for all sorts of reasons

 still lots of colour!

 I love trying to get shots of the roses with the Palm House in the background...

some work better than others but I love this white rose!

 and these pink ones!

 I sat and watched clouds for a while..

 see, it does work!

 inside the Waterlily House I ducked under this  in the doorway - it seems to have suddenly filled the inner foyer between the main door and the waterlilies... I don't remember it being so  big last week!  but it can't have grown that much.

I must be very unobservant.

 large mat of waterlily leaf

 outside, the Palm House flowers

inside the Princess of Wales now...



I went in search of lizards but they were all hiding...

 saw some bananas though

 and this weird looking thing

 and this

 and a pretty orchid

 I decided to see if there was anything I fancied for lunch - train strike day again, so only one train an hour and I wasn't going to make the next one..


I sat and did some more cloud watching

 in the middle of one of the beds in the Parterre

 these geese were trying to get at the plants in the circular bed at the top end of the path

 hmm  seems the fence isn't high enough!

 there were lots of ducks snoozing






I abandoned the idea of lunch (checked in two different eating areas, didn't fancy anything)

 so headed back down the Broad Walk

 where there were now some bees around

I stopped at the drift of rudbeckia on the bottom of the Broad Walk (after my final attempt to find something tempting for lunch)

 as I reached  the exit, I was putting my close up lens away when I caught sight of these

 so many different stages of flower  on the one plant!

 amazing.

 as I walked back across the Thames, a load of rowing boats came under the bridge...

I had caught the Great River Race - an annual event that always catches me unawares (I saw them last year unexpectedly too)

but I couldn't linger, I had to head off for the train!



Thanks for keeping up with me once again!