Kew Royal Botanic Gardens

Matthew, Peter and I spent most of the day at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, which houses the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world. Kew was formally started in 1759 and were adopted as a national botanical garden in 1840.

Peter, Sherri and Matthew at Kew

First, we stopped in the Palm House, built between 1844 and 1848. The hot and humid climate inside fosters the growth of palms as well as other tropical plants. The building itself is stunning, featuring white-painted wrought iron arches and spiral staircases to the upper level.

Palm House

Iron Cross Begonia leaf

Chenille plant in the Palm House

Lollipop plant

One of the spiral staircases in the Palm House

Next, we walked through the Woodland Glade and ascended the small hill to the Temple of Aeolus, a circular neoclassic structure nestled among the trees and wildflowers. 

Rhododendron, cow parsley and bluebells in the Woodland Glade

Evergreen bugloss

We descended to the Bonsai House, walking through to reach the Agius Evolution Garden, a 1.3 acre space divided into 8 sections with around 700 types of plants that demonstrate the modern understanding, based on DNA, of over 350 million years of evolution. The garden sections are both scientifically fascinating and lovely to stroll through.

Oriental hornbeam bonsai

Evolution Garden section

We walked pass the Rock Garden, the Princess of Wales Conservatory and the Davies Alpine House (which we visited later) to reach the Orangery, where we had an enormous and delicious lunch. As we were leaving, we spotted a mother fox seeking food from the outside diners. 

The Orangery

Mother fox

Our next stop was the Princess of Wales Conservatory which houses ten micro-climate zones and includes both dry and wet tropic plants, including carnivorous plants and bromeliads.

Nearby is the Davies Alpine House, a building with a unique arched shape that allows natural airflow to aid in the ventilation required for the plants. Included in the collection are small, sun-loving, drought-tolerant, high-altitude plants that thrive in rocky environments. An array of bright colors abounded among the specimens.

Flowers outside the Alpine House

Outside the Alpine House is the Rock Garden, a beautiful area with many flowering plants, ponds and waterfalls.

Part of the Rock Garden

We made our way to the Temperate House, stopping to rest (It was hot and we were overdressed!) at King William's Temple above the colorful Mediterranean Garden. The cherry trees along the Cherry Walk leading to the Temperate House are no longer blooming, but tulips in fantastic shades of red, orange, yellow, white and purple waved their blooms above the tall grasses and under the trees.

Peter and Matthew walking toward the Temperate House

Tulips along Cherry Walk

The outside of the Temperate House features a mix of decorative motifs, finials, pediments, acanthus leaf capitals, stone urns and statues. It opened in 1863, although it was not completed until 1899. It has twice the floor area of the Palm House and is the world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. Inside, the glass ceiling soars above the plants, with some reaching nearly to the top. 

Matthew and Peter in the Temperate House

After the Temperate House, we walked to the Great Pagoda, erected in 1762. The 164 foot )50 meter= tower has 10 octagonal storeys, each with a projecting roof an adorned with large, gilded and brightly colored dragons. 

Dragons on the Giant Pagoda

The Giant Pagoda

The Japanese Gateway with the surrounding traditional Japanese garden was a delight to see. Built for the Japan-British Exhibition in 1910, the four-fifths scale replica of the Imperial Envoy's Gateway of the Nishi- Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto was moved to Kew in 1911.

Traditional Japanese garden

Japanese Gateway

Next, we ascended to the Treetop Walk, which affords wonderful views of the the canopy as well as nearby buildings, including the Temperate House.

Treetop Walk from part-way up the staircase

Horse chesmut blossoms

Temperate House

Continuing on, we crossed the lake and found the Rhododendron Dell, where the plants were mostly in full bloom with some buds still waiting to reach full flowering. The marvelous shades of red, pink, magenta, orange, purple and white have such intensity. This was my favorite section of Kew on this visit.

Rhododendron

A variety of rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron

We made our way to Victoria Gate in a roundabout way in order to amble by the Great Broad Walk Borders, where a multitude of flowers are in bloom among the carefully, precisely trimmed square pyramids of cedars.

Giant onions and tulips along the Great Broad Walk

Border of the Great Broad Walk

We all took the District Line east, with Matthew getting off near his apartment and Peter and I continuing on to Tower Station, where we exited and made our way back, with weary feet, to Mantra. 

That was the end of our adventures for the day. We had Caesar salad for dinner (because there is still no cooking gas) and played a game of Scrabble, with Peter surging ahead at the end to beat me by more than 50 points because he had a bingo and a triple word on one play.

Peter has already gone to sleep and it's past bedtime for me.