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[picspam] Kew!
Today houseguests & I bimbled off to Kew, which is all of 20 minutes away on the tube (plus some deeply irritating faff to do with crossing the tracks - no sensible step-free route immediately apparent, so I will examine harder for next time). CONSEQUENTLY I have bought myself a membership to Kew, so like, if you are ever in this neck of the woods and feel like having me drag you around some botanical gardens and going "LOOK THE PLANTS ARE MY FRIENDS"... :-)
As you may or may not recall, back in July I was very confused about trees. Well, I found a candidate:
See, what Q. ellipsoidalis looks like is this:
I was less convinced by Q. lobata:
We spent quite a lot of time in the Princess of Wales glasshouse, which currently contains the intoxication special display. Of particular note to us were:
MY FRIEND THE PURPLE-BLUE BROMELIAD...
... leucitism of probably-a-cheeseplant leaf - a very dramatic example, wherein one side of the central vein was normal dark green and the other a very creamy white...
... the WALL OF ORCHIDS...
... and the bright pink-and-purple What Even.
Other highlights:
... the 5' tall metal artichoke sculpture in the walled kitchen garden (not, I note, near any actual artichokes)...
... some very dramatic waterlilies...
... excellent reflections of leaves & the roof in the waterlilies glasshouse, wherein the water is dyed black to show off the Victoria ginormous lilypads to best effect, and last but definitely not least...
... THE HATEBIRD. IT WAS SUCH ANGER. This only really shows it hunching its shoulders, but it was seriously chasing after any bird that came within six feet (including vertically) and making FURIOUS HISSING NOISES. It was the angriest gull. We watched it with delight and amusement.
Not pictured: the treetop walk is actually accessible, in that it has a lift up to it! It contains truly baffling sculptural poetry and to my intense irritation does not label the trees you can see at useful height. The autumn crocuses are out in force and are fantastic; the dahlias likewise; the sweet chestnuts are doing their thing, and the gingko are turning.
I thought the weather was pretty much perfect, and all in all am looking forward to spending lots more time there. :-)
As you may or may not recall, back in July I was very confused about trees. Well, I found a candidate:
See, what Q. ellipsoidalis looks like is this:
I was less convinced by Q. lobata:
We spent quite a lot of time in the Princess of Wales glasshouse, which currently contains the intoxication special display. Of particular note to us were:
MY FRIEND THE PURPLE-BLUE BROMELIAD...
... leucitism of probably-a-cheeseplant leaf - a very dramatic example, wherein one side of the central vein was normal dark green and the other a very creamy white...
... the WALL OF ORCHIDS...
... and the bright pink-and-purple What Even.
Other highlights:
... the 5' tall metal artichoke sculpture in the walled kitchen garden (not, I note, near any actual artichokes)...
... some very dramatic waterlilies...
... excellent reflections of leaves & the roof in the waterlilies glasshouse, wherein the water is dyed black to show off the Victoria ginormous lilypads to best effect, and last but definitely not least...
... THE HATEBIRD. IT WAS SUCH ANGER. This only really shows it hunching its shoulders, but it was seriously chasing after any bird that came within six feet (including vertically) and making FURIOUS HISSING NOISES. It was the angriest gull. We watched it with delight and amusement.
Not pictured: the treetop walk is actually accessible, in that it has a lift up to it! It contains truly baffling sculptural poetry and to my intense irritation does not label the trees you can see at useful height. The autumn crocuses are out in force and are fantastic; the dahlias likewise; the sweet chestnuts are doing their thing, and the gingko are turning.
I thought the weather was pretty much perfect, and all in all am looking forward to spending lots more time there. :-)
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That What Even! What Even?
I have four pin oaks on my lot (garden? I live in a between-the-wars suburb with relatively small lots for U.S. houses, but somehow we've 30 mature trees on our lot.) They hold on to their leaves most ferociously, so that there are dead ones still there in the spring.
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Hurrah trees. I am extremely satisfied to have finally identified the Mystery Tree from earlier this year :-)
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Also OMG Kew is amazing.
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welp ~you know where I live~ ;) And there is so much I didn't get to visit this time around! The rhododendron dell is for DEFINITE on my list.
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I dooo, and once I am a bit more settled here (and SFF-community drama is not happening on a daily basis) I would love to arrange a Kew visit. Rhododendrons are excellent plants, incidentally. :)
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(Have you seen last week's WTF, Evolution? CARNIVOROUS POTATOES.)
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( :D )
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I also had a chuckle at the orchids. A friend of mine bought me an Australian native orchid hybrid and I've been frantically trying to work out how to care for it properly (it occurs to me I should take photos before the flowers die).
Thank you for sharing these! <3
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