1st September - the first day of meteorological Autumn - my favourite season - and after a few cooler days (especially first thing in the mornings) this was the sight on the station platform at 6.30 am.
Sunrise over the tracks!!
glorious.
high tide on the Thames as I crossed the river on my way to Kew (well you knew where we were going, didn't you!)
this is the kind of light I love about September... shame about the bus stop in the way oops!
so to my normal first view of the day...
trees casting a shadow over the Parterre beds in the early sun...
as I said on the phone version of this I posted on facebook, THIS is why I love Kew at 8am... such a privilege (sadly only till the end of September)
.
took this for the reflection of the sun in the water.
the grass was heavy with dew so my feet (in sandals this week too warm for anything else) were getting wet!
as usual, a walk down an empty Broad Walk first..
light dancing in the shadows on the grass...
I crept as close to the robin, singing his heart out, as I could (can you see his mouth is open in this one?!)
before he flew off
the drifts of small alliums are still looking fantastic
and the echinacea, even though they're losing their petals, too
purple asters, dripping with dew
most of the bees were too quick for me today!
after the success of last week's dew on the dahlia I was looking for similar effects... no reflections but lots of dew drops!
all shining in the sun!
same with this one!
as I walked past the Rock Garden towards the family beds I saw a huge spider's web...
they're really hard to photograph!
beautiful red leaves in the sun
soft leaves covered in dew
the huge tomatoes I saw last week are ripening
as are the grapes, and bursting too! the birds will have them at this rate!
love the light shining through the leaves (it's a family thing, just ask my cousin's daughters!)
the Kew students vegetable beds were looking good,, the corn is growing tall
the alpine house mechanics. It still reminds me of a big sail
inside, the plants were getting a watering before the sun got too hot
teasels in the sun...
lovely combination of pink in front of purple
it was odd seeing the moon still up above the Hive!
large group of geese snoozing or eating the grass
hmm. definite signs of changing seasons!
an interesting piece of bark lying on the path
headed round the lake early this time
time for a wide angle...
to your left...
to your right...
both swans were there today
the surface of the water looked like fabric with whatever it is that's on the surface....
their movements were mirroring each other's., cute!!
walking further round...
haven't seen the heron for a while...
you get another view as you round the head of the lake...
more light through leaves...
from the lake I walked over some more wet grass (though drying where the sun was hitting it) towards the Pagoda...
past another little pond
and the Temperate House, still closed as it wasn't yet 10
and back past the Palm House
where I headed to the cafe at the main gate for breakfast (apricot danish pastry and coffee today)
before doubling back to the Rose Garden
a FB post from the official Kew page had mentioned in the week how good the late blooms were looking. .... and smelling..
they weren't wrong...
ooh there's a little ant or something on one of the petals!
I didn't mainly take pink ones for any particular reason, it just happened!
this one had a "Kew highlight" sign by it.
it's called Maid Marion and smelled absolutely gorgeous...
shame no-one has developed smell-o-camera yet!
with the Palm House behind
into a hot Waterlily House...
translucent leaves of a Lotus flower
in the Temperate House,
beautiful deep purple (manettia paraguariensis)
Gnomus's last weekend....
he's been real fun!
sadly, Cirque Bijou were unable to perform for the last time, a board announced, due to "unforeseen circumstances" such a shame as I was hoping to get some better final photos than last time...
Outside, I walked back down the path and to my left saw a load of what looked from a distance, like tennis balls on the grass... I went to investigate..
a huge tree full of these...
and the fallen
the tree is called Osage Orange..
a sign inside the Victoria Gate information desk says it's also called Hedge Apple but is neither an apple or an orange...
squirrels like to eat the seeds apparently, which is why several of the fallen ones had been broken open!
back to the Palm House, huge bloom of a plant whose name I have just forgotten... size of a dinner plate though! (we saw these a few weeks ago)
inside, massive palm leaf
love the soft grey-green of this one.
yep, trees are definitely changing colour...
can't remember where I saw this... sure it was inside somewhere....
sat on a bench in the shade for a few minutes. and saw Gnomus returning to his ... den?? lair?... till his next tour of the Temperate House...
round the side of the Palm House pond again,
heading for the Princess of Wales glasshouse via the pond and the gunnera...
walked up the path to the temple of Aeolus
where you get a good view of the family beds below at the bottom of the hill
walked past the end of the Rock Garden and the salvia border
changed lenses again for some closeups of the waterlily pads
great structure
love the contrasting colours
just past the pond, by the mangroves was one of the lizards
with his back to us, how rude!
I went round to where I'd seen the other one... he was lying baking in the warm earth
so many people just walked by without noticing!
one young lad though suddenly saw it and jumped about a foot in the air, it was priceless
love the spots on the leaves
outside on my way out, bees on the sedum
I had time before my train (one an hour, strike day again!) so wandered over to the garden in front of Kew Palace (well behind, really)
and on my way to the exit, past a small pond with some bullrushes
I sat on a bench in the shade for a bit before heading for the train
I had quite a long wait still but couldn't resist taking this picture of the sun blocked by a cloud on the platform.
thanks for looking again.
4 comments:
You were definitely an early morning riser as that shot from the train station proves. Of course, I always love the usual opening shot from the Parterre beds in front of the Palm House, and I am also glad to see the urns are still filled with beautiful and colorful flowers.
No wonder you get confused when I show my robins that live in or near my garden. Yours are SO much more colorful and pretty. Mine don't seem to sing, either. Great two shots of him/her.
Holy spumoni. That is ONE HUGE spider web. I thought you got some great shots.
I so love it when you show the windows open in the Alpine house. This is stunning architecture, which I LOVE.
What a great shot of the moon above the hive, but those geese were doing more than eating and snoozing. Trust me, I've walked in it before!!!
The swans and their babies looked lovely in the early morning light. I even thought the heron was a statue for a minute. Perfect shots.
We have hedge apples in our state. They are NOT edible for humans and are only on the trees so they can reproduce more hedges. Hedges are used as wind and drift breakers in KS to keep as much ice and snow drifts off the roads as possible.
Gnomus was funny as ever. I so enjoyed seeing him. Too bad he won't be back next week.
Although you have shown photos of the Temple of Aeolus before, I don't ever remember seeing photos from the actual structure.
I really enjoyed the shot of the garden in front of Kew Palace. Reminds me of a maze.
Gosh, Helen, that was a long and beautiful post. I so enjoyed it and truly love that you share these photos with us.
Just WOW for sure. Wonderful stroll around from my sofa, your photos are wonderful, you really capture the flavour of Kew and your love for it.Thankyou x
Great pics again. I especially like the one of the lizard, he/she is lovely xXx
You were right, I hadn't visited this post so thanks for the reminder!
Ooh, the highlight on this post for me has to be those fabulous spotty leaves. They look like they've been painted on, lol! Close seconds are the lovely shots of the dragon....he is beautiful!
Another favourite is the beautiful delicate dewdrops photo next to the spider web. That is just so pretty!
OOoh, nearly forgot Mr Robin singing his little heart out! That is such a lovely shot. Glad I came back if only to see him.
Hugs
Lesley Xx
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