The weather forecast was a high of 66F with a 10% chance of precipitation, so I put on my tennis shoes and headed to Kew Gardens. When I arrived at Kew, I found a charming town awaiting me! Upon exiting the underground station, I was surrounded by big, green trees, small boutique shops, and a bookstore. As I followed signs directing me to the Gardens, my view of the trees remained, but instead of shops, there were elegant white brick homes with rod iron fences decorated by roses. I was immediately enchanted and I hadn't even arrived at the Royal Gardens!!
The Gardens kept the enchantment alive. The first piece of foliage that I was introduced to is probably the most important foliage in the Gardens, the BIRCH bark cherry tree. I overheard someone state that the tree had the most beautiful bark of all the trees in the garden and I would have to emphatically agree! :)
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| Palm House |
Moving along the path, my first stop was in the Rainforest "Palm House" (built 1844-48). That's right, there is a rainforest habitat (of sorts) in London. I say "of sorts", because the monkey calls and bird chirps that were heard inside the building were merely recordings of those animal sounds. Admittedly, the recordings were sufficient to create the "feel" of the rainforest, so I guess that was a good cost-saving tactic. Does that make it a rainforest or just a fancy greenhouse?
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| Kew Palace in the background |
After I walked through the glasshouse, I was a bit relieved to return to the 66 degrees outside of the building. I continued my journey by beautiful flowers, dominating structures (such as the Kew Palace, built 1631), and trees. Oh my, the trees. There were trees that the dinosaurs ate, trees that you could climb on, trees that seemed to grow into the earth, and trees that had a "tupee" of needles resting on their branches. You could even take the "Treetop Walk" which was literally a walkway weaving around the treetops. It was fantastic!
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Treetop Walkway
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Trees were not the only sight to behold, I also meandered through the Bamboo Garden, had lunch by what I like to call "Swan Lake", enjoyed the serenity of the Japanese Garden, and attempted to take my own picture in front of the Pagota (built 1762).
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| My view at lunch |
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See Mimi...See the
Pagota?? |
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Aww yes, the
Pagota
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| Japanese Garden |
The day couldn't have been more beautiful from the weather to the incredible foliage. I thoroughly enjoyed Kew Gardens and give it 5 stars.
Moving along the path, my first stop was in the Rainforest "Palm House" (built 1844-48). That's right, there is a rainforest habitat (of sorts) in London. I say "of sorts", because the monkey calls and bird chirps that were heard inside the building were merely recordings of those animal sounds. Admittedly, the recordings were sufficient to create the "feel" of the rainforest, so I guess that was a good cost-saving tactic. Does that make it a rainforest or just a fancy greenhouse?
Trees were not the only sight to behold, I also meandered through the Bamboo Garden, had lunch by what I like to call "Swan Lake", enjoyed the serenity of the Japanese Garden, and attempted to take my own picture in front of the Pagota (built 1762).
Looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a beautiful and relaxing outing!
ReplyDelete