Kew for April Fool's Day....

 Well today is my ex wedding anniversary (long story)  and after a very wet week it was actually dry!

very dull though, but the tulips have erupted in the Palm House beds. 

as I said last week we were only allowed in at 11 am today due to the twice yearly Richmond fun run round Kew... 

so lots of people already inside (the runners are allowed to stay after the run if they want)

several different varieties of tulips in the beds 

the urns along the pond have been planted up with tulips - raindrops (lots of overnight rain)  

and whatever these are

very pretty tulips

more of the palm house beds

these are in the bed at the top of the Broad Walk

loads of daffodils down the Broad Walk

and the euphorbias 

we headed round pas the Hive where on the other side of the path is a huge magnolia whose flowers have opened out greatly since last week

there's a huge tree on the corner, smothered in blossom

outside the alpine house 

some diddy narcissus

Bonsai House first though,  

where there was this stunner to see (tipped off by Kew's twitter feed)

and another bonsai 

the student plots are being planted up (this is for Kyla in case she stops by this week )

on into the evolution garden, gorgeous colour of this magnolia 

and some paler pink ones

down towards the end of the EG 

into the alpine house

these small tulips are so pretty

the flowers on this are about a couple of mm  only

we then walked along the top path along the rock garden

more of the beautiful pasque flowers out...

I didn't notice Kim taking this one, but I did hear her  yelp as she nearly toppled over the low railing onto the rock garden...  

into the Princess of Wales conservatory for a quick walk through...

bit fogged up!  

bottle brush

a more open one

and one on the way

outside again this is the big magnolia by the Hive as we passed on our way back

past the palm house

bit of a tease, the Yoshino cherry trees lining the path round the rose garden... don't worry, more soon

because first,

tulips outside......

the just re-opened for the summer,  Waterlily house...

planting not finished yet and they've changed things around a bit round the edges of the pond

a drip disturbed the reflections in the water as I took this...

had the wrong lens on th camera, so couple from the phone 

undisturbed reflections!

more of the tulips outside

ok, to the cherry trees....

across the rose garden for an overall view

hopefully next week the skies will be blue to improve the background!

but despite the grey day they still look gorgeous

with the palm house behind,

the phone focuses on both!

so many blossoms... 

we popped into the Temperate House to "use the facilities"

before heading into the gallery to see the new exhibition that opened today

I'm including this as I wasn't sure if you'd be able to read the signs from inside

through the gap in the doorway

the lighting from inside the cube causes glare. 

but it is designed to cast these stunning reflections on the floor, walls and ceiling

when I took these I didn't think they'd be any good as the camera was suggesting lack of light but they look good.

I really wanted to get some of the cube itself

without the glare from the lightbulbs inside it

pretty impressive!  

as we walked past the end of the gallery Kim caught sight of a flash of metal 

I've never seen these sculptures here  before!

the wooden one above was so cute

just goes to show you always see something new at Kew!  

we headed to the Pavilion cafe for tea and cake (well hot chocolate in my case)

lemon and blueberry, with edible flower decoration - not much choice today so I went for the prettiest one!

we were sitting outside although it was a bit fresh!

good view towards the Temperate House

puddle reflections 

turned along the path to the Japanese Garden but couldn't resist the cherry trees outside the TH

I didn't have the macro on at this time

but there were lots of pretty trees

love the soft greeny-grey leaves on this one

there are lots of peiris round the Japanese Garden

I love their tiny bell like flowers

then we walked up cedar vista towards the lake

veering off to one side first 

pinky wite rhododendrons

and some prettier yellowy green  ones

more blossom

by the little pond part way up,  some really pretty snowdrops

and further along some little flowers in a fir tree of some kind 

walking round the lake, we came to this big tree with a hole in the trunk 

with what looked like a nest in it.

there were 2 moorhens scratching around in the grass by the tree, but not sure they nest in trees!

mossy bark of the tree

goose hiding! 

trying not to topple over shooting up to the top of the Redwood

Mandarin duck on the lake

today also sees the start of the Easter holiday event "Superworm"

a trail round the gardens for children to follow - exploring the interaction between plants and animals the blurb says

we came across part of it by the lake 

(wrong lens on)  but this is another part of the trail

magnolia dell in the distance.   we didn't brave the mud this time!

bright yellow forsythia

we separated to head our ways home,  (I was going by train today) 

couldn't resist another cherry tree

walked down the Broad Walk towards the exit

but had plenty of time before my train so diverted across to the Glory of the Snow 

but no way was I lying on the ground this week

near Kew Palace I saw this flash of white in a border

so pretty! 

another blossom burst by the loos near Kew Palace

and some deep pink tulips 

and pale yellow ones near the Elizabeth Gate exit 

huge magnolia on the corner at the exit. 

thanks for looking again,  see you next week - it's Easter, so there may be a bonus day out somewhere!  (or Kew twice, depending on the weather)