Saturday, September 11, 2021

Kew - a late visit


 Late only due to a  local Fun Run taking place meaning the gardens didn't open till 11.  Was very odd not leaving home till the time I'd be thinking about an early coffee break some visits... and mixing with a long queue to get in!  These will be the way of it in a couple of weeks anyway when the members special opening finishes for another year.

however, as a bonus as I took my normal opening photo at the Palm House, the clouds parted and the sky was blue
I decided to go into the glasshouses first this time before they got too busy

a couple of the pelican flowers still on show in the waterlily house










Princess of Wales conservatory next





























the latest titan arum is growing apace

these orchids look like they're cuddling up!  












bed outside the POW - dahlia
sun through the canna lilies

alpine house.  for some reason these on the camera came out really dark










but the ones I did on the phone were ok





rock garden


blogger is swapping orders again,  too tired to re-do them....


squashes and pumpkin check....

my favourite dahlia (I found a tub of raspberry ripple ice cream this week, it's not like the old Wall's block you used to get, but was a nice memory-trip!!

salvia border - just a couple this week












some late-flowering clematis in the veg beds 
evolution garden... couldn't see what this is, but striking (tall, covered in these  ?flowers...)
a true sign of autumn.   one or two were developing their skeleton-like look.






whilst some of the echinacea (in the background here) are fading, still loads of colour from tehe rudbeckia
and the asters - which were smothered in bees


I did have trouble getting the bees in focus though, they were FAST today


lots of different species too 







then back round to the pond 


must look to see what tree this is next week














I checked out the queue for refreshments at the cafe back at the main gate but it was quite long, and more importantly all the outside tables were full


so I kept on walking towards the temperate house 

and found a fresh crop of mushrooms under the tree by the "please be seated" installation (which was also full so I couldn't have mu usual sit down there







amazing ferns 
there were masses of blooms on the angel's trumpet  - both this salmony pink one and the paler yellowy one
i found some more funghi inside again 























signs of autumn coming to the leaves on the trees outside 
and hiding under some shrubs, a mass of decaying funghi - must have missed them in their prime!




the sun was quite bright now and I regretted not having my sunglasses (forecast hadn't suggested I would need them!)


then it was time to walk round the lake





stopping part way for a sit on a bench and a packet of crisps (well, mini cheddars to be exact, my favourite red leicester flavour)





decided I didn't want to climb the steps for the treetop walkway today (again)  



I went back into the Temperate house and walked through the half I hadn't done earlier (entered half way along before)


then walked along the edge of some beds back towards the Palm House


hypericum.   love these 

and I always forget the name of this tree, but the smell is kind or citrussy.


beautiful











walking through the rose garden,  loads of blooms still 














then into the Palm House

love the white middles (and on the reverse too) of this hibiscus


quote hard to tell which is the metal support and which the trunk of the banana...


the one with the wire round is the support
looks like it could do with a bit of a scrub tome



plenty of bananas though





then the new rose beds between the end of the Palm House and the Waterlily house


they're more sheltered so the bushes still have lots and lots of flowers
these, a variety called Dame Judi Dench, where beautiful, but sadly very little scent


(phone)


















then the Broad Walk 











I can't resit them!



kneeling on the path, shooting up into them, 
 they look like trees








at the end of the Broad Walk, before going home, I stopped for a refreshment break.




no coffee or cake today, 

but

vanilla and clotted cream...

delicious.



then it was time for home - walking across Kew Bridge, to the train,  a fast walk as I was in danger of missing one

lots of football supporters around (the local team Brentford, play in a new stadium just behind Kew Bridge station)


luckily, as I crossed the station the train was a couple of minutes late and when it came was packed with fans exiting for the game (they lost sadly)  

Thanks for looking - next week it's an 8am start again, make the most of it before we revert to the normal 10am for the rest of the year.





3 comments:

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Your opening flower shot is looking a bit ready for either a haircut or a sad ending for the year. It looks so much different, except for the silver flowers around the outside of the front bed.

Lovely images in the waterlily house. And I see "your" fountain is on and looking good. Loved the bird of paradise in the POW house and whatever that plant is in photo 18. Beautiful photo. The orchids are always fun to see, but the bottle brush is stunning. Love the swirls of color on the squash.

I always love to see bees. That makes me happy and the lavender asters are stunning in addition to attracting the bees.

Too bad there were so many people at the "seated" sculpture. the lake actually looks lovely. Nice reflections too. LOTS of people at the Treetop walkway. I wouldn't feel safe since no one seemed to be practicing distancing.

I'm always impressed by the roses. So many varieties, so little time. And those bananas!! Incredible. Are they edible? Like the kind you get in grocery stores from the tropics?

Enjoyed seeing your cone. Thanks for taking me along this week. Beautiful photos, as usual, dear.

Lillianb said...

I would love to go to Kew it looks a fascinating place with so may different plants,

Take care and stay safe,

Lilian B # 19

Celtic house said...

There is some stunning autumn colours, I live the orange and purple combination very Halloween, the bird of paradise is always stunning to see you normally see them in the winter gardens in Sheffield. I hope you have a good week.

Hugs xx