Bright but cold... Kew

Parts of the UK woke to the first smattering of snow today.. Luckily, not in London.  The sky was bright and - eventually  -  sunny.   The clocks go back tomorrow, so it will be even darker.

I am cheating today with my first view of Kew because this wasn't my first view - I went in the other gate, nearer the station (the train was a little late)

but to keep my posts regular and to plot the changing seasons, I'm putting this first.


They have finished planting the beds, but no labels yet so I don't know what's what.

 as you can see, beautiful blue sky - but boy was it cold, and I wore my puffa coat filled with feathers that is my favourite winter wear, and yes, I put the hood up frequently to keep the cold air at bay (I am prone to ear-ache in cold windy weather)

 the colours are still glorious, although a lot of the leaves have fallen from lots of the trees.

 so I walked up the Broad Walk from the other direction this time , the first time since April before the early openings started.  it felt weird!!

 lovely pattern of red and green on these leaves.

and the Hive was looking stunning in the sunshine

 the grasses were looking good along the Broad Walk

 and caught the light beautifully

you can almost feel how soft they are!

 I couldn't believe how many of the leaves this tree at the end of the Broad Walk, has lost

but love how the light was shining through these ones

 yes, Elizabeth, they urns are still full!  I am surprised, actually, as they normally empty them at the same time the Palm House beds.


but they still look good, so I guess they decided to leave them a bit longer.

the Smoke Tree at the Victoria entrance, is finally starting to turn colour.

this is such a fabulous tree when it is all red,.  will see what it looks like next time!

 You can really get an idea of how many leaves have fallen here, the Kew flagship autumn colour shot - so different to last week!

 but the fallen leaves really give the sunshine a chance to catch the colours of the remaining ones, and you can see them so much better

 beautiful!

once again, the blue sky backdrop works so well for the rich reds and oranges

 I walked down the grass towards the Pagoda, although I was going to the Temperate House which nestles behind the trees on the right

 turning to see the Palm House flanked by colour

 flying-saucer clouds!

 shadows through the glass roof on the waterfall

 up the stairs - the Kew Facebook page shared a photo this week from May, when the TH re-opened,  to show how much the planting has grown - it was quite incredible




let me go back to my store of pics and add one for you...

not quite the same view, but you get the idea!

 I always love the view through the windows of the other sections

and the roof of the central section

 large fern as I came down the stairs

 I walked round the other sections

 outside again

I walked to the Treetop walkway and climbed the stairs (yes, lift shut again)

I met a lady on her way down, with a large tripod and bigger bag of camera equipment than my own. and we commented on the lack of working lift.

 but the views through the tree canopy is worth it!

 glimpses of the buildings through the thinning leaf cover

 those flying saucers again!

(is it just me?!)

as I left the walkway, headed for the lake,




I could see the pair of swans swimming and hurried to catch them...

as I knew they would make great patterns the other side of the bridge...

 sailing serenely through the reflections!

they swam off, up-lake!



I paused to swap lens to and fro...

 the blues were fantastic..

 and so too the reflections

 seagull posing

 this was the side I would walk up

 loving the sun through the different coloured trees

lots of ducks and geese on the lake today

 I could see that the swans had reached the end of the lake- they swim faster than I walk ... I thought I might be able to get some close ups, so sped up in case they left again....

 I was in luck.  they were having a preen...

as I was lowering the camera, there was a great splash in front of me and they took off...

 so pleased I caught this one! 

... at a really fast rate,



scooting across the water,  I just kept clicking the shutter...

into the distance



they were gone in about twenty seconds.


I walked round the lake after them....

 they kept diving for food.. one of them as you can see, kept tipping right up (or down!) whilst the other one just when in partway!


it was the same one every time.  I stood and watched for ages.

 before leaving them and walking back

towards the Palm House..

 looking good, Palm House!

 there is a hedge that runs round the edge, at the top of a slope.

 as I crossed the grass towards the Broad Walk again, I saw a magnificent tree...

 with beautiful leaves

 I was about to go down the Woodland Walk to the Princess of Wales glasshouse when I saw the sun catching the dogwood alongside the pond, so doubled back.

 before heading back..

 hadn't been to the parts where I saw all the funghi last time, but this was growing out of or attached to, the bark edging the woodland walk.

(bracket funghi?  is there such a thing  - there is, I checked!)

 first I walked through the Rock Garden along the salvia border, still full of colour

 the family beds are now all completely empty, ready for whatever they have in mind for next spring (I imagine)...





they are roped off so you cannot walk round most of them (nothing to see, after all)

 but to the left, there are some beds still with vegetables and herbs growing

 that you can walk amongst.


chilli peppers

 and a display of harvested squashes and pumpkins

 cutting through the grass garden, the alpine house (didn't go in as there was a large group of photographers heading inside...)

 I stuck with the gorgeous outside, flanked by grasses and shining in the sun

 the Princess of Wales glasshouse.

you might be able to see that some of the panes are misted (inside, from the heat) distinguishing the tropical from the temperate zones..

I went in, to see if there were signs of the water dragon(s)


the ferns in the entrance are huge right now

 into the main tropical area (just before the pond)
a huge passionflower tree - I commented last time about how huge the pod/fruits were - you get more of an idea of scale on this photo

 there was no sign of the water dragon down on this level so I went up the stairs...

 where the arch that in February is festooned with orchids during the Orchid Festival (they leave the arch up permanently) was this time covered with passionflowers..

in a stunning red/purple combination. 

I had real trouble with my lens misting up in the humidity...

 so forgive this photo,

but i got some that were ok and not misted up!







I went down to see if the baby was around...

 no, but the parent (have no way of knowing if male or female) was in the middle of the path posing... it didn't move the five minutes or so I watched..

 see, more misting.   he/she proved fascinating for young and old alike

I am not as considerate as Elizabeth in not putting people I don't know, in my photographs !








from there, I went into the cool orchid zone

 where there was a large tub in bloom

the drops of water on the stem always attract me

I went back round again, and this time stopped to look at the "pink bananas" (forgot to look for a label again!)

the flower seems to be bursting open out of the top of this bunch!

 he was still there! 

heading out again,  this yellow prickly shrub is hard to photograph, the lens doesn't seem to like the yellow.


but I love it.

 I cut back through to the Broad Walk

 the rudbeckia are fading now, finally- they've been fantastic for ages



I headed into the Orangery to go to the loo and check out the queue for food (too long) 
so, as there were only one train an hour from Kew today (another strike by South West Railways)  I headed

for the gates, and home.



It was turning quite cloudy, and looked as if it might rain, so I decided not to stay another hour.


It was mighty chilly, as I said, today, but the sun was bright and the colours fabulous, so it made for another great visit.

hope you enjoyed it!