Kew - a final early visit for the season and the end of a fabulous week off

 So today is the last Saturday of the members early openings at Kew until May - although I learnt there are 2 Saturdays in mid-late October (half term) for the kids Gruffalo event we can go in at 9.

Sadly after a week of sunshine, today was grey and cloudy and we did have a brief period of drizzle later.  However,  8am .... all the normal regulars were there waiting!

a very different backdrop (sky)  this morning - such a shame

I headed first for the evolution garden, past the salvia border along the edge of the rock garden

the staff or students have been busy since Tuesday as lots of the beds where things have finished, have been cut hard back

not the asters though

or these tall yellow ones (not sure what they are)

the rudbeckia and helenium are still fabulous though

and the tiny lilac ?michaelmas daisies?  

so many flowers - and buds still to open

I got in really close with the phone

it was a very mild night overnight, so no dew or raindrops today

still quite a few roses here 

and quite a few hips

starting to skeletonise... 

euconium

pumpkins 

in amongst the flowers

seedheads

zooming in

and in

more squashes

the bed that had the beautiful wild flowers early summer (seems so long ago now!)  now has borage coming through... such a pretty blue

one of the grass beds

something fluffy and purple

in the Duke's Garden,  some really tall yellow daisy-type flowers

just to show the height...

against the light 

a yellow red-hot poker (kniphofia)

as I walked back to the gateway back into the grass garden this pretty grey cat came to  meet me.... 

the plantscapes from outside the Princess of Wales conservatory is now empty... surrounded by caging to stop anyone going closer,  when i came by later, they had put up some of those sheet things covered in tree prints. that I shared from the Temperate House earlier in the week

back on the Broad Walk 

can't resist these

or these

heading across grass....

past the rose garden

and towards the Temperate House - these flowers were tiny and hard to focus!

Cherry Walk at the Temperate House

walking past, most of the doors had signs up to say the TH is closed for work on the Japan event that starts next week - that you can see through the main door.

Elizabeth,you said I'd mentioned it a lot - only in the interests of my readers to keep you informed!  

However I am sure it will be very interesting

more trees changing colour...

I decided to head for the Treetop Walkway

and climbed the steps -  

to the left as I looked, the compost heaps and in the background some of the plant nurseries

lots of nuts in their casings on the horse chestnuts 

even on a dull day you can see quite a way across country!

whatever the red things they are hanging in the TH can be seen from up above through the windows

coming back down (so much easier than going up)  I headed towards the Japanese Garden  

berries on the sorbus trees

headed to the lake

under some trees a moorhen and her 2 babies dashed towards me - obviously expecting food!

there were dozens of squirrels today dashing about, digging holes and presumably stashing nuts for the winter

sweet buckeye - beautiful leaves

another one

most of them were too fast for me

shame the sky wasn't blue to show up the colour on the trees more

my tummy was rumbling so I headed back towards the Palm House and then to the cafe

the hibiscus in the beds at the Palm House are still flourishing 

fountain dancing on the water

typically the drizzle started as I sat to eat my sausage roll - a garnish of coleslaw today! 

Luckily it didn't dilute my coffee or get me too wet and didn't last long 

the bed of roses Dame Judi Dench still has loads of flowers

into the waterlily house

these seem to come from nowhere, although I may not have come inside on Tuesday

large lotus flower 

tree fern between the waterlily house and Palm House

got to stop at the fountain on my way to the 

Princess of Wales conservatory

these look like a cross between the pelican flowers in the waterlily house and the carnivourous plants - couldn't see a label.  They're quite small and hang overhead

this looks like it will be a large waterlily when it fully opens

upstairs on the arch, a couple of passionflowers, one just coming out and this one 

in full flower

on getting to the titan arum, it had collapsed as I had expected. 

in the cool orchid room

cyclamen in the Alpine House

a big pot by the doorway with a frame supporting these pinky red flowers climbing up the frame

the pots of cyclamen outside I saw them arranging on Tuesday

teeny tiny flowers of autumn scillia

back at the Broad Walk,

sat on a bench for some lazy photography...

then walked round the back of the bed on the grass towards the Orangery restaurant

then round the end of the start of the Broad Walk again

I decided against an ice cream (the cart was open today) even though it was warmish  

arty shot time!

view up the Broad Walk from the bottom end 

Kew Palace

sat on a bench for a few minutes near the exit so I wasn't too early for my train

and there you have it - the end of another trip to Kew, another season of early starts (much prefer them - roll on May !)  and the end of my week's holiday - back to work on Monday so I don't plan on going anywhere tomorrow,  have the F1 race and the golf (Ryder Cup - which isn't going well at the moment) to watch!  

Thanks for looking