Today we visited the Royal Botanical Gardens, known as Kew Gardens. We spent hours there and saw many things. Here’s a taste:
That’s the Palm House, one of the star attractions. It’s a gigantic greenhouse with full sized palm trees growing inside (and a basement aquarium!). One cycad on display is over 250 years old!
The Princess Of Wales greenhouse contains 10 ecosystems and (it seems) at least a trillion plants. This is where some of the world largest water lilies are on display. Nearby, we found this guy.
The gardens are hundreds of acres and contain all sorts of varied arboretums and plantings. Between exhibits we stumbled upon a hydrangea grove.
A highlight of the gardens is a treetop walkway many meters above the ground. It’s a bit of an effort to get to the top (the lift was out of service) but was absolutely worth it!
Bees were everywhere, but notably concentrated in flower gardens planted beside a long walkway between the major greenhouses. Overlooking the flowers was a seasonal exhibit honoring bees called ‘The Hive’:
Here’s a shot from inside:
It’s hard to believe this will ever be removed, such is the work that went into it (lights and sound are based on the activity at a nearby beehive that the structure is wired to) and how popular it was with visitors. I’m glad we saw it.
Overall Kew was great and certainly lived up to expectations. If you’re ever in London, this is an easy recommendation.
Kew Gardens just magnificent. Kristin in among the spectacular hydrangeas, the little critter, and the beehive were great. It must have been a wonderful experience for you both. Great pictures.