Dreams do actually come true! I’ve been wanting to go to Kew gardens all my life, and heaven knows why I hadn’t managed to get there before. My cousin and I decided to make the journey by train, we changed twice, very quickly and easily, then took what is called the Overground. I don’t need to explain that do I? On arrival we went past a tree trunk decorated with red white and blue ribbons for the Jubilee then to look at an estate agent’s window where nothing in the area cost less than a million pounds; had a coffee to get over the shock and did a little people-watching, seeing streams of people go by, then followed them to a surprisingly short queue. I was amazed at the variety of visitors, young and old, local and foreign visitors. Of course as the brochure says, Kew transports you to other worlds – “the steamy rainforests, the cool arid desert and the bright breezy mountainside.” Something to appeal to everyone.
I have recently been reading a book called “The Plant Messiah” by the Spanish horticulturalist Carlos Magdalena and deep down I was hoping to spot this miracle man doing his magic in one of the greenhouses though I guess he’s tucked away doing secret scientific stuff out of sight! Although I was disappointed not to get to a seminar or talk I am proud to say however that I am now using air pots, the very same as the ones they use at Kew.
We did a lot of walking. Past people picnicking; to see the ultimate folly -the giant Pagoda -surrounded by a good number of beds for highly perfumed Philadelphus; along the Great Broad Walk; past the enormous broken Wisteria and we often found ourselves, on looking round, completely alone, no one in sight in these huge spaces in spite of the crowds at the entrance. By this time I was a bit tired and nearly didn’t go to see the new Agius Evolution garden. And that would have been a terrible pity because honestly, I found it the most fascinating part of the gardens. It displays plants arranged according to the Plant Tree of Life. “This classification is the result of research into plant DNA, revealing how plants are related to each other and how they have evolved over millions of years.” And I always find some of those relationships really surprising.
You’d make your dream last as long as possible wouldn’t you? Well , so did I! Accordingly, we then went to walk along the Treetop Walkway 18 metres above the ground, so you get pretty good views. Not quite as Tarzan-y an experience as I could have wished for, not quiet enough for me but I guess dashing along it is a dream for exuberant kids! And although I’d already seen (and loved it) at the Milan EXPO of 2015 I couldn”t miss the hive located in a large, natural environment. It’s always been absolutely fascinating, the powerful world of the honey bee.
The Photos are all from the Kew Guidebook.My own Photos are in my camera in England
English that grows 