Exotic Escapism

We are having a relatively mild winter this year but this has been combined with very wet weather, so much so that in parts of the country, many have had flooded homes and roads and railways are disrupted. Our local area is, fortunately, largely unaffected, other than the rain. 

We spent Christmas day celebrating with my Sister and family, but after a day of food and celebrations we decided that a trip to Kew Gardens would be a lovely way to unwind and walk off some of the extra calories. My parents, gave us an annual pass for Christmas so to take advantage the four of us headed into London. Kew itself wasn't too busy, despite them having run a promotion in the run up to Christmas  with a number of free entry vouchers available, although the glasshouses (with their warmth and shelter from the rain) were where we, and everyone else, headed.

Outside the Princess of Wales Conservatory: Not the most beautiful of displays in December, but rather unusual in that Kew normally lifts the Agaves and other succulents  This winter they appear to be experimenting.

Arid landscape in the Princess of Wales Conservatory

The Princess of Wales Conservatory has had something of a makeover recently, In the arid section, many of the cacti and other succulents have been trimmed and thinned out, giving a more arid effect. It was starting to look like a very lush garden in places rather than a more typical arid bed. I'm sure they will allow the plants to expand again, but at the moment its looking very tidy.

This Glasshouse soon gives way to a Humid Tropical section, and with the rain coming down harder outside we stayed for a while enjoying the plants and warmth!

Anthurium salviniae

David Nash Sculpture. I really like this one, and quite fancy creating something similar in our garden, from stone rather than iron.

From the Princess of Wales Conservatory we headed onto the iconic Palm House, which is warmer and more humid.

Within the Palm house there were a selection of metal bugs made from recycled tin cans. We didn't spot any information about these so I don't know if they are connected to the David Nash exhibition.

Crinum purpurascens

Psychotria ankarensis

Pritchardia elliptica from Hawaii

Lush Jungle planting within the Palm House.

Encephalartos villosus is a shade-loving Cycad from South Africa

With the rain still coming down we headed to the final glasshouse of the day, the Temperate House. This is about to start on a major renovation, and many of the plants have been removed or are in preparation for removal. We will feature the preparations in a separate post. Gaz