Inspired by my run through Kensington Gardens, I decided to take the train out to Kew Gardens. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Kew Gardens are considered one of the best gardens in the world. They cover hundreds of acres, and I could have spent all day there -- as it was, I only had time to just scratch the surface. Seeing these gardens makes me want to plan a garden-hopping trip to England to see all the best gardens in the palaces and country houses.
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The line was way longer than I expected |
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The gardens have a series of giant glass houses dedicated to different types of plants.
This was the Palm House. |
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First thing you see in the palm house? A palm that is older than the US and the French Revolution.
The plant was added to the Kew Gardens in 1775. |
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Throughout the gardens, I tried to soak up the richness and variety of the plantings.
I really love the plantings en masse with such different textures, colors and shapes. |
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A waterfall in the Rock Garden. |
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The Water Lily House was the highlight for me. |
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Hard to get a sense of scale, but if you're in any doubt, those things are HUGE! Probably a good 3-4 feet diameter. |
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They're a type of giant water lily from the Brazilian Amazon. Discovered and first brought back
during Victoria's reign. This one is actually a hybrid bred onsite with another lily from
Peru -- otherwise the pads would be so large they'd overwhelm the pool. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7O0XaQzaQOmCxYFCDKbMSp-bPZ3iDqgWjyDwyUpKvxpNufYhrb98QSDdfK0IbpAr-tJ3NZnOI6GZK0j7KJOuF-g6oyFQJLXefXZwpCcXa_McBP3dARfcTDUDZShCXEQDVm4u5BUdQ9zfV/s640/blogger-image--1106058724.jpg) |
The variegation and star-shaped petals made these super interesting. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-dr1f5eLOL1K-NV83mH7-DW8YX3p9OU4bS_vxLAyGAvikIsrk3L9RBYS86cD-W6oPl5t3evD5pQymatuzEsyAETTwBmEEbMtC347MKS2Xe_GssTWiHWEWdL_UH3xijeJChRJIY7_SLCsa/s640/blogger-image-1541452653.jpg) |
This was the plant-family section -- each bed had a bunch of varieties of plants all in the same family. |
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Peonies! The plants themselves aren't interesting without the flowers, but look at the framework
of branches -- the plants grow up through the basket-like supports, which give structure to keep the plants
upright once they get tall and are laden with heavy blooms. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGpeb0fphcQE0rnXCajM3s9ftIvb8PgJOLXDf7LrsjnjgoOV9b2HvAuKz0JdeIOzYPw9Y82oVnJn0jyc6FA9mQyeh-BLGDMjEmYfH_gXqt72v6yC7Pj453oH_lnB-g2SEum9IZWwu-92K/s640/blogger-image--460520861.jpg) |
Is there anything lovelier than a calla? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8IGmm3qvdk_6ghf2m_fGHaD3VmSnFY4KN-VpKVACGo7pzwY30tRSKJyfqejWsxIQv8f_Bg_YFZ2Mp_ajxQNnXLBEbhyphenhyphenSkowCNU3GZM8hDEOZi8-Ws2TKmCeeyuYifl45vTbJnM9WC_GsW/s640/blogger-image--1770308200.jpg) |
Bees! |
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Fair warning |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc9jZOQodlRjX1JCtsQtIRHxZu5YO2mV6b3EDO47sPltB0VgsHbzU7bMefOV0Fjv_0h14bao5ZSsyYEhnW6VyKKt8PY8efGrGJ4V-97kHEOJrFhj7E8jBILgyozH7w_VbU7AemCjkEy9Z/s640/blogger-image--1882538965.jpg) |
Carnivorous plants |
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Cacti in one of the greenhouses |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_wXnU8vShAbjf9A_uWVHOXGq4BCOy20A7KfIuiKyxTDOCrjITUxRpuhicr_BNSFV78T_fijSnADJN5-kjjNxb6hIqZ2jrDyuU-k9vtCFU2juFXYWjt5zCEw1cYqniJFYyMF-yATCJown/s640/blogger-image-1053955398.jpg) |
Kew Palace is clearly a side-note here. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DXTYpvgIpSRSMiDByKEtD-9ew9_eGWifeTxutHRxRKzt2nQo9YPkXd3g-BrwFejVmJKKsZjRi3LcBaSF9ijz-2Icr_7VYQXcYQOFxY3KnxyfoQEuSSu9BLAfll1H3x9oCL9D7vAry5e9/s640/blogger-image-443038986.jpg) |
So, the garden map promised a greenhouse full of "climbers and creepers", which I assumed meant vines.
Not so -- it was the playground. Boo. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuUURAv2x3wUCvGNOUGSk3YxCWFrFOnGojIt54QV0UiLHm2H2g2Hun2S06QGvKpbsh5w38arFJbtSThiRv1eVzAhHTyThHKtOz8ZTy5uaZgsqzTtFEOhBsC1edGeQyCqnJOR13xix7aH-/s640/blogger-image--1624604632.jpg) |
The giant trees, and the tall uncut grass, had a lovely, almost wild feeling. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJgPRU7bZD6djuFIaTV_5kbs6xWk2dg7Ek7cgaoTMwZ5MgP2vHyTibWIEMzhjobTkBJ46pkQMjZV8HyJxIF5uLzITx_4v2GTVbL7o3WhOPyRtNBwNa205Dw8aMeSxQMbMMLvhT05BVPFo/s640/blogger-image-357141545.jpg) |
Vast expanses of parkland to offset the formality of the planted gardens. |
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