Kew

 Today is the start of a week's holiday, I will be having days out (watch this space!) but for today of course, Kew...  Luckily not quite as hot as it's been .. 

it was quite overcast early on..

loads of colour in the Palm House beds

if I get under here, you won't see me.....

the baby geese are late this year... but cute!

down the Broad Walk first 

I was just taking this (with water drops) when the direction of the sprinkler changed and turned towards the path where I was standing ... Kim just laughed...

blogger swapping order again... 

allium seedheads .  love the web between the spikes 

lots of poppies along the Broad Walk and the bees were busy

I really want to get in the beds amongst the flowers, sadly it's forbidden!

sky looking a bit murky,  but no hint of rain

there were ants crawling over this

Indian horse chestnut

alliums under the tree

roses in the sunken garden behind Kew Palace

this was beautiful (label here gives it's wild name, viper's bugloss,  echium) 

Kim and I were both playing at candid shots of the other today...

with Kew Palace in the background  (from my phone)

as we got to the pond near the Elizabeth gate we saw a heron siting as still as anything on the waterlilies

had to crop a bit

didn't have the right lens with me really 

more India horse chestnuts along  the path towards the Elizabeth gate.

caster oil plant in a bed near the gate 

eryngium in the Duke's garden

fluffy grasses in a bed

the waterlily pond  near the science labs and alpine house

eucalyptus bark 

common cotton grass - seedheady and covering the purple flowers 

the gates to the student plots were open, unusually for so early,  this bed was full of cornflowers and was stunning 

the leopard from the Orchid festival is still lying in another student bed.  

the wildflower bed that runs along the side of the student plots.  the white daisies are starting to fade

but there were still lots of poppies

the rose pergola was looking fantastic

I couldn't wait for this couple to clear the path... lol  

then it was poppy time

california poppies first

pinky purple ones

red ones with a fabulous purple centre

bees diving in 

white ones, with a purply black centre, 

delphiniums

the orange of the alstromeria caught my eye - hang on!

hyndrangea

bee time!

eryngium

some on the phone

close up of  a spike

echinops

be on scabious

foxglove

part of the pergola

alstromeria as promised

sweet peas

veg beds from the outside!

in amongst some grasses near the pond

gunnera framing the Palm House

we headed for something to eat and drink, but I forgot to take a picture as we were talking to "Dave, the Squirrel Man"  who is another regular and runs a FB group called Merlin the Magic Squirrel,  he goes twice a week and knows most of them by name.. along with the foxes and swans.. check him out! His photos are amazing

then we headed down camellia walk towards the Temperate House 

obviously these aren't camellias!

we went up to the viewing platform 

tree ferns...

this is where Kim went bonkers with her candid shots...

back down on the ground, in one of the octagons,

this is an aeonium,  I never knew they flowered

but several of the green ones, were in flower

the flowers are so pretty

there were still some bird of paradise shining 

the Eneste (below)  has a goldeny tinge to it's stem (trunk?)  now as it fades

it is fading now as it collapses and the plant will die.. it has lasted months though 

a purple aenonium

outside, on the slopes around the Temperate House, covered in dandelions and poppies

I got down on the grass

this with the phone

kim was down on the path caught me struggling up!  

at the "back door" 

TH in the background

into the "overflow"  house

Kim spotted these teeny orange flowers

silver daisy bush, still a few flowers

seeds about to drop!

then we headed to the lake

which was looking great

mum and babies - they're growing fast!

dad was the other side of the crossing, 

luckily I kept my eyes on him

then he swam under to join the family

and we headed back to the rose garden 

bed outside Waterlily House

inside the waterlily house - a huge flower

I needed the long zoom really

this is on the new variety they discovered last year 

reflections - flower and visitors! 

I used max zoom on the phone!  

Broad Walk,  we were heading to the Princess of Wales next..

colour was good on the phone 

outside the POW

inside

lots of flowers to come,  may have to get in a mid-week visit to see if I catch them

and these too

in their pond

these upstairs are still flowering beautifully

passionflower leaves

last one!  

the light through this leaf was just stunning

start of a new titan arum on display

walked through the orchid room, only a few flowering at present 

paused for another look at the Ghost Orchid

still hard to catch due to multiple reflections 

near the exit now,  passionflowers 

grevillea

outside the alpine house

pretty seedheads (townsendia  formosa_

tiny flowers in the alpine house

flowering sempervivum (house leeks)

then through the rock garden back to the exit

more seed heads , different ones

bullrush

and that's your marathon visit today!  

thanks for looking,  I'll be back soon with various days out as I said!