It was my birthday last week, and Mr Spoons 'n' Spades offered me the day out of my choosing (woo hoo!), and I plumped for Kew Gardens, not having visited since my children were young.
Overall, my impression of Kew hasn't changed much. There are some really great areas, like the Japanese Garden and Rhododendron Dell, then there are some areas that really let it down and lack interest and I think they could do so much more with. Queen Charlotte's Cottage is one, it's a cottage, please add a cottage garden to the entrance instead of a dull patch of lawn, the bees and butterflies would love it, and so would I!
But, I'm being picky, because we spent a beautiful sunny day here, strolling around, and found many beautiful areas to admire. Here are some of my favourite photos from the day.
As I mentioned, the Japanese Gateway garden is just stunning! I think it's the first time I've ever visited during this season, and it was definitely the best I've ever seen it. The cherry blossom was in full flower, and the gorgeous red blooms among the rockery were simply amazing.
Some of the Camelias had finished flowering, but many were still flourishing. Such beautiful varieties and colours.
There were some lovely little plants in the alpine house, and most seemed to be in bloom. Lucky for me!
The Rhododendron Dell was packed with glorious colour. I'm still waiting for mine to flower at home.
And the cherry blossom scattered around the garden was breathtaking, especially against the clear blue sky.
Of course, there were Bluebells and Snowdrops.
I always look for form, layers and interesting colour combinations when I visit gardens, and these are a few of the photos I took to remind myself and maybe replicate certain features for my own garden.
I could share so many more photos from the day, but I'm sure Blogger would go into meltdown, so I'll leave you with a last one of me, taken in front of the British Orchids.
