Bank Holiday Saturday - Kew

Headed to Kew today as usual, in beautiful sunshine.

it was also already warm 

you can see some of the beds are being cleared, ready for the summer bedding plans,  

Kim took one of me waiting (impatiently) at the gate!

and then one heading for my opening shot!

the double daffodils in the palm house beds look good but the tulips have finished - I expect they'll be cut back soon

they've already taken them out of the urns along the side of the pond

we headed down the Broad Walk -  these really pretty pinky-red and white tulips are still gorgeous

catching the sun- the photo doesn't do this one justice

I spotted some water drops on the alchemilla mollis

and the euphorbia were bright in the sun

more tulips

now this one looks good!  

a tall tree covered with blossom

another drift of tulips

I spotted that the bed of lilac bushes off to the left of the Broad Walk were flowering

we were going to head for rhododendron dell next, Kew has been posting on social media about the colours

patches of blooms in the grass on the way

couldn't resist the blue sky

ahead, acers and blossoms  

the red on these acers was stunning 

Kim ahead of me,  approaching a bed of azaleas, planted a couple of years ago,  they're growing nicely

and the colours were stunning

looking back the way we'd walked - you can't see how muddy the grass was!

tree trunk - this looks like it's been engraved by someone 

a bed of rhododendrons

closer

rhododendron dell,  a lot of tall specimens here 

I took some on the phone to get the red behind the purple

Kim playing the colour matching game again - amazing how much brighter my hair looks in the sunshine 

This is the best match yet!

I think I'm sending some to social media!  

we carried on up the hill

as we got to the top of the hill and the path splits, 

I saw that the camassia had flowered

they are beautiful 

close up on the phone

following the path towards the woodland  with the  Thames running alongside the boundary

the carpet of daisies required some lying on the path shots!

on the phone 

we walked through the woodland walk

to admire the bluebells, which have come out a lot since last week, and looked amazing in the sun

finally we spotted (and smelled) some wild garlic

it seems late this year 

it smells more oniony than garlicy

the path was very muddy so we had to watch were we put our feet

I was so tempted to blow the dandelion "clock"  but resisted...

we decided to head to the Pavilion cafe for something to drink

we sat outside in the sunshine

Kim took this one through her sunglasses! 

I'd had a really bad night's sleep with a bad stomach ache and couldn't eat my apple crumble muffin!  

we went into the Temperate House

gerbera, covered in insects

some bird of paradise were in flower

a King Protea had come into flower -  stunning!  it was attracting a bit of a crowd

fabulous light through leaves

we came across a dogwood - this is a dogwood tree though.  (there is a huge one outside along the walk to the Pagoda)

light through palms

outside the tulips planted in the grass

were looking great this week in the sun

the cherry tress are starting to fade, shame they didn't sync better this year!

as we walked through the Mediterranean garden, I diverted to look at the stunning Judas tree down the steps

broom (or gorse not sure which)

I was struggling now, really tired, so I headed for home and Kim stayed a little longer

I paused briefly by the tub of tulips at the exit.

I had to push (gently!) through a large queue waiting to enter Kew, to get to the bus stop and my way home,

Monday,being May Day and a bank holiday, is the 1st of May and so - hurrah,  Kew members 8am opening starts... Watch this space  - Kim and I might be going back!

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed this slightly shorter than usual post!