Kew Gardens

On Sunday April 22nd we went to Kew Gardens (the Royal Botanic Gardens) to see the bluebells. Little did we realise what a trek it would be! The bluebell season is quite short and it is one of the special seasons of the year (bluebells are a protected species in the UK) so there is a 'bluebell walk' set up. We headed off on it and then realised it was 5km long, which is a lot when you are expecting a lazy Sunday afternoon in a garden!

The beginning of the walk took us through some big glasshouses with different zones set up inside which was very cool. One of them was about changes in plants through history. Then we found the first sprinkling of bluebells and sat down to wait for our other friends to catch up and join us. Time for a snack and a bit of a nap in the sunshine too :-)

Me, Nick, Steve and Jared













Napping Nick :-)


















Headed on to Queen Charlotte's Cottage which Queen Charlotte used to have picnics in. It was very pretty.

Then we got into bluebell area proper which was pretty special; large glades completely covered in bluebells. It was quite spectacular.














Steve, Nick and Beck strolling along the Syon Vista












The rest of the walk, to be honest, was a bit of a chore. The gardens are lovely but it would be nicer just to find a pretty spot and hang out. Maybe its just that it was a Sunday and I had worked the night before. We gladly stopped at a cafe for lunch and from there it wasn't TOO far back to the gate to go home.
A water lily in the Wet Tropics Zone, also home to the Titan Arum, which 'has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.'