Saturday, April 29, 2023

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! 

2 comments:

Celtic house said...

It is definitely in full bloom now stunning colours. I'm sorry you'd had a bad night's sleep I hope you are feeling better now. The rhododendrons look amazing Chatsworth are taking there's out due to their invasive nature which I think is a shame as they always look stunning in flower. The bluebells look great too.

Have a great Bank Holiday

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

By now you have definitely had your bank holiday and I am late visiting. Sorry I don't have much time to leave a proper comment right now. I like that photo of you at the gate. That bag looks HEAVY.

The urns look good now that the tulips are gone, but it appears you still found plenty to photograph.

I really LOVE that photo of you at the cafe. Sorry you were sick, but it doesn't show in the photo. I actually appreciated the shorter post!