Saturday, April 1, 2017

April Fool's Day.... no trip to Kew...

ha ha of course there was!
Despite a gloomy forecast (which was wrong, on the whole it was lovely) off I went - I won't be going next week because of the Ally Pally stamp show; can't have a 3 week gap at this time of year, too much changes.
 Arriving early, I walked round to the Victoria Gate, and on entering, the first bed you see is full of gorgeous Hellebores









the sun was out, and it was warm (totally not what they forecast!)

this tree has burst into growth in 2 weeks.
still lots of magnolias in glorious bloom
 and even more daffodils
 of all colours
 and the cherry blossom was fabulous
 so much of it
 and pinks too

 the clouds were still scudding about but there was lots of blue sky to show off the blossom


as for the fritillaria - oh wow!  ropes all around to keep people from getting too close...
soft growth on the trees the fritillaria are planted under


turning round from the magnolias, the light was shining through the upper part of the Palm House
 walked through the rhododendron dell...

 loved the birch stems
 and this little robin, though I couldn't get close enough for a really good shot
 more blossom
 lilac

the Glory of the Snow still looking like a magical blue carpet










round by the Orangery restaurant, pastel ice cream shades of tulips

 love the vivid acid green of the euphorbia against the bright blue sky - the Broad Walk is bursting into life again

yum!
more trees full of blossom
 and at the top of the Broad Walk, the round bed, full of more ice cream tulips and underbedding which I think is primula

 love the translucency with the sun shining through the petals
 time for the ultra wide angle
 more gorgeous spring bedding
 the Parterre, still full of daffodils but more colour coming through now











the Waterlily house has just re-opened after it's winter break.. nearly empty, but that won't last long
 back past the Palm House

 still with the ultra wide agle
 I knew I'd caught this at it's best last time!
Love the view though


 the peacock that was sunning himself on this stretch of grass, is now in full mating display action (and sound!)

 through the Rock Garden, the Pulsatilla (Pasqueflower) are gorgeous

 swathes of them
 and round the front of the Princess of Wales glasshouse, gorgeous daffodils













the sky was so blue, love the pinky white magnolias against the blue

 the Hive - luckily that cloud disappeared
 heading for the way home, now but I could see red and white in the distance










pure beauty! several round beds of red and white tulips, again, translucent petals in the sun.

what a walk!  Just over two hours....

time to head home for the football (well I listened to the first half on the radio on the train) and a win for Liverpool, what a great day!

9 comments:

snazzyoriginal said...

Beautiful photos as always, really feel Spring is sprung. Do you scrapbook your photos?

Little Arty Journeys said...

Fabulous!

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Gorgeous photos Helen. Lovely to see all the new growth . Tracy x

Artmadnana said...

Oh my goodness. You caught all of this in just a couple of hours? The colour of the euphorbia is dazzling. Absolutely wonderful. Such an array of colour Helen. What a wonderful morning you had.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

You certainly fooled me, but then I saw the first flower and knew I had been fooled.

I see the magnolias and daffodils are still in full bloom.

OMGosh. I remember having a cherry tree in our back yard as a child. I love the blossoms as much as the cherries that will come later.

I thought the shot of the robin was AWESOME. You may not have thought you were close enough, but it was an adorable photo in my mind.

LOVED the tulips. They truly say spring to me. And there were SO many unique varieties, too.

It will be good to see how the Waterlily house develops over the next few months. I look forward to updates there. I know it will change over time, so that is one area I hope you show each time you visit.

The Broad is beautiful and the lime green is a favorite of mine.

LOVE the showy position of the peacock. He will soon find a willing mate. And of course, the Rock Garden is always a favorite as you show something new each time.

BTW, I've never heard of fritillaria before. They are truly lovely and so delicate looking. Thanks for this April Fool's Day trip to Kew.

sam21ski said...

Gosh, you've gone all pinky and purpley xx

craftimamma said...

Finally I remembered to come to your blog! Last night I kept drifting around online knowing there was something I specifically wanted to look at but for the life of me I couldn't remember what, lol!

Gorgeous walk you've taken us on again Helen and at this time of year with the tulip it's one of my favourites. I love the pretty colours of the icecream ones and the drama of the red and white at the end. The fritillaria are so delicate too with their lovely bells. It's lovely to see all the different greens starting to appear on the trees too. All in all absolutely stunning!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

What wonderful photos Helen! I love the fritillaria - they really are beautiful - got quite close to some last week and the pattern is amazing! Dashing as usual! Chrisxx

nanskidrewski said...

Beautiful! I love Kew gardens and spring flowers.