Kew, orchids and spring, springing!

Settle back this could be the longest ever... Totally different weather to last week, but at least there was no rain

 Even though I arrived at the entrance just under half an hour early, there was already a large crowd waiting... impatiently!  (that was me, obviously)


I hurried past the Palm House again to the Princess of Wales glasshouse and the orchids, getting ahead of most of the crowd

 I noticed a map on my way in this time which hopefully you'll be able to enlarge to have a look at.

 The entrance allows you a choice of two ways into the main display area, I took the other one to the one I've taken each time so far, so approached the 'colourful river' area first...

I have a mammoth number of photos that I took (over 500) so I will try and include things I haven't seen or shared before, especially from the Orchid display..



like this bamboo structure

and I noticed two large red flowers high up above the "river" 

 display over a doorway

 heading back round to the pond and the main display

 walking up the steps to the arches

lots of visitors enjoying the display

 proving hard to avoid people, but as someone commented, you do get the scale then!

 stems

 the "river"

 this week my favourite water drops are on a white rhododendron

 peeking through the mangrove roots.

 the arches "upstairs" thronged with people

heading for the exit of the orchids now, been in an hour again, time flew, it didn't feel like it

 these flowers are tiny!

 one of the paper butterflies

 outside, there are daffodils gallore in the beds under the eaves

 inside the door of the alpine house, these teeny tiny flowers caught my eye


they are gorgeous!!
(tropaeolum tricolor) 

teeny irises

 sempervivium  (house leeks)

 I've always liked these

 back past the POW daffodils

 trees are really turning green now

 the POW from across the grass.

well, not all trees are turning green yet!

I was off in search of coffee and cake!

I sat inside at a beautiful table that has obviously been made out of an old tree trunk, probably a fallen Kew tree. 

sun is trying to come out (after refreshments)

 I've seen these odd patches on the grass (well on leaves on the grass) before but don't really know what they are, they aren't frost, it wasn't cold enough.


pretty though

 a bank of crocus under a tree

 wide angle time.   The Hive from the Broad Walk

towards the Palm House up the Broad Walk

 whilst I had the wide angle on, I got the globe out...

 blue sky!!

 I love the euphorbia, with their acid green yellow bracts.  and the wide angle was fun too

 back to the normal...

crocus on the edge of daffodils spreading in the grass..

 and the palm house in the background

 primulas in a circular bed outside the Palm House

 went into the Palm House,  up above, stag's head fern

 caught the robin!

 when I came out, the sun was out

I headed down to the Temperate House


sun was shining through trees

 and on the hellebores

 I was on manual focus ultra close up when this bee kept coming in and out of shot, it was moving faster than I could re-focus  his eye looks huge!

the blue flowers were little and label-less!

 these little berries are on the massive shrub that last summer was humming with bees all season.  I still can't see anything that says what it's called.

 inside the Temperate House

 someone has placed a large camelia in the pocket of the "shepherdess" sculpture

 the purple tulips have finished and been moved, but these are still going

 gum-leaf conebush 

I like this!

 after walking from one end to the other of the Temperate House, there was cloud....



the Pagoda will re-open later in Spring.

 and blue sky

 and masses of blossom

which smelled delicious

 and looked amazing against the blue sky

 crossing a damp patch of grass I found a clump of funghi growing on an old tree stump

 and some more weird-ness on a decaying leaf

no, no idea!

 catkins in the sun

 more blossom

 I walked down Cedar Vista to the top of the lake.    Off to the side behind the scenes in the nurseries or work areas, they must have been having a bonfire!

the lake. 

 I walked round the left hand path

 and then went across to my left to the magnolias which I could see had developed lots in the last week

there was quite a crowd photographing them

i got a bit carried away!

 there are just so many flowers on the tree!

 the white ones are great too, taller, but the pink ones are more spectacular or maybe just more photogenic!

 drifts of crocus under the magnolias

 a smaller tree,

 walked past the edge of the Rose Garden, all hard pruned ready for the new season

 I wanted to go and look at the Mark Frith trees again as they finish soon.


I came across another large drift of crocus on the way so got distracted

and along the path to the gallery, massive camelia trees (they are too big to call shrubs,surely!) 

 so many different varieties.

 a couple of quick snaps inside...

 and then back out

 down the same path I'd come along,

see how big they are

 I walked round the Palm House pond to see if the flowering cherry was turning yet...

 just starting to come into bud.. won't be long, if we get good weather.  must remember to look next week again

 different colour bedding (still primulas) in this circular bed at the top of the Broad Walk

 the Hive behind trees with the Princess of Wales glasshouse to it's left (you may need to click to enlarge)

 last bed before the exit, tulips in bloom; must be spring!



it was getting on, past 2 so I set off for home.







stopping for a quick picture on Kew Bridge, I just got down the steps to the platform as my train came in!     perfect timing.

It's taken me a while to sort the photos  - could have included so many more, but this is probably enough -  and haven't added any from the phone, (I share some to facebook as I walk around) - thank you for sitting through these all!