The week ended the way it started - Kew

The early forecast was for thundery showers first thing... that wasn't going to stop me; nor were the railway engineering works that put me on the bus instead...

 this was the view from my front doorstep as I went out at 6.20, towards the sun - hopeful!



it had rained a lot overnight

 slightly more ominous to the left..



as the bus approached Kew it was obvious that there had been LOTS of rain overnight, as it drove through a puddle that covered half the road - if anyone had been on the pavement they'd have got soaked

 I arrived early and stood at the gate for 20 odd minutes waiting for 8.   the sky started to clear without raining on me

somewhat unsurprisingly there were only one other couple in line by the time they opened.

I walked my normal route alongside the Palm House parterre beds.


even in very grey light the colours pop.

 so I walked down the Broad Walk and got happy with the raindrops!

 the lily I'd seen in bud growing through the euphorbia had bloomed

 alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle) with it's mercury- like raindrops

the next one may not be for the squeamish -  ahead of me on the path was....

 a big fat slug (yuck)


making it's way across the path

 agapanthas

 the bees were up and collecting pollen, despite the cool dull conditons

 I cut round to the Hive and over on the grass by the POW glasshouse was evidence of the Kew Science Festival  (I hadn't realised it was this weekend)

 I walked up round the Hive wildflower meadow

 the now mostly white flowers were tumbling over the path


underneath the Hive they were preparing a table for the science festival about honey which I now realise I forgot to go back and investigate!

 walking along to the evolution garden.


she turned her head just as the shutter clicked!  carrying a mouthful for her babies, maybe?

this poor bee looks a bit bedraggled as if it got rained on!

 I walked back round past the Palm House pond where these delicate little mauve flowers have bloomed

 with the Palm House

 I walked round the back of the pond

 I walked up to the Japanese Garden

 walking down Cedar Vista (no sign or sound of peacocks in or out of trees)

past the hydrangeas

 and a fabulous old tree trunk

 at the top of the lake, a raindrop covered tree

 the rain of last night had cleared this end of the pond from weed/pollen

 a honking alerted me to geese flying and I just caught them as they passed me

 by the bridge, the duck and her babies were sunning themselves...


I stopped and took of my waterproof jacket and cardi.... warm now!

 the man who feeds them was on the bench just out of shot, with a camera and huge lens.

bet he got some great shots

 I walked over the bridge, the cygnets and mum were swimming in the clear water











I headed up the path by the Treetop Walkway
where this fir tree glistened with raindrops

 as I approached the Temperate House I saw the doors were open (it wasn't quite 10, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't) so i I went...


jasmine

 web on a trunk of a tree fern

 pretty little (and they were tiny) pink flowers

 love how the reflection of the blue forms show in the ball

 and how the shapes mirror the planting

 here too on the yellow reeds

 they look  even more like bird necks now

up the stairs...

 over the top

 from the top of the steps down

 the red reeds with red flowers in front

 outside again

Indian Bean tree - they seem to be everywhere now I know what they are!


heading off to the gallery now

 the two opal towers outside the Temperate House with the Pagoda in the background (and a little girl running up the steps into shot!)

 outside the gallery...hadn't noticed the raindrops till I downloaded the pic...

 it wasn't until I saw my cousin's photo from her visit with me on Tuesday that I noticed how the light shone at the base of this form

 on my way to the cafe at the entrance I ducked off the path to avoid a Kew train... the statue on the top of the wall is hiding in the tree now

 echinops at the entrance

echoing the shape of the Sapphire Star above

after my coffee and cake I headed to the POW glasshouse - missed this huge flower, they are so short-lived.

 a basket hanging at eye level did what it was supposed to and caught my eye!

 under the mangroves on the wall again!

 as I walked round the other side for a closer view, the lad (horticulturist) who I've seen feeding them came by and I said how he seemed to like sitting on the wall lately.

I said "I say he"  - he replied saying they are hard to tell apart by they think this one is male...
I mentioned not having seen the babies - he said they're still around and one was out the other day... typical.

 he also said there was another water dragon on the pillar in the pond the other side of the steps...

I went back to look, couldn't see it, so it had either gone or was just hiding very well!

 as I went to look for the small ones I noticed the titan arum is flowering again

I went round again looking for the other dragon.


didn't see it, but did see tiny pink flowers that had fallen over these big leaves

 so I went back to this one

 I went out past the rock garden

 and had a look round the science festival -  loads of tents with activities for kids


informative and things to do..

 this giant funghi had been rigged up somehow so that when a small child

 made a noise through the end it echoed out of the "trumpet"

 I left them to it and headed to the waterlily house

 glorious lotus flowers

 I went round twice in fact as I crouched down and took some photos through the middle of the barrier - what a fabulous angle

 reflections

 I may have got carried away down at this level!

stunning!

 I carried on crouching outside

 paths were dry enough to sit on for low level Summer Sun shots

 went into the Palm House

 I took another walk past Sapphire Star

 and the poppies in the grass by the cattails and copper birch reeds

 crouching down again (grass is dry enough now)

 it is looking quite flattened though, presumably from wind and rain

 somewhat threatening clouds above

 so I decided to head back to the exit

where at the gate I found a demonstration happening...  couldn't make out what they were protesting about but they were carrying a black draped coffin covered in plants...I can't find out what it was so far.


I left them to it and made my way past them out and to the bus - which took ages to arrive, and then 4 turned up!


So, that's my holiday - tomorrow will be the last day of the Golf Open championship (which I have been watching since Thursday) and then back to work... that week went fast!
Thanks for looking

(EDIT  it was the Extincion Rebellion group protesting about extinct plants caused by global warming)