Kew Gardens 6th Smile – Orchid Festival

‘He has made everything beautiful in it’s time.’

Ecclesiastes 3,11

 

and to bring the beauty from all over the world,

Kew Gardens is celebrating the Orchid Festival until March 10th.

It really is a festival of colours, sounds and beauty.

This year there are Orchids

from the world’s most biodiverse county: Colombia.

Breathtaking displays of orchids,

a sweet smell,

accompanied with Colombian music,

even the cacti have hats on….

 

Let me take you through with this donkey:

 

Animals made include a toucan,  a swimming turtle…..

A sloth

 

and a life sized Jaguar

 

There are 1000’s species of orchids,

different colours, different sizes.

Enjoy the show:

 

 

Please click on the individual photo to enlarge.

All photos taken by me at Kew Gardens.

 

 

Kew Gardens 5th Smile – Temperate House

A cold day in Kew Gardens and so many things to see:

The Temperate house is home to an internationally important collection of temperate zone plants, including some of the rarest and most threatened.

It is the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world.

As a Listed Grade 1 building, it has been restored to its new glory and re opened in May 2018.

 

Walk with me and enjoy the rare and beautiful plants.

Nepal Yam

Giant citrus fruit

Australian plant

Click on the individual picture to enlarge.

Each plant showing off its beauty in different ways.

There is a spiral staircase to walk up along the Gallery.

The view is fantastic, and the sun was shining.

On my way out I passed the gift shop and found some lovely Bamboo socks.

I couldn’t resist.

 

I’ll be back at Kew very soon!

all pictures taken by me at Kew Garden

Kew Gardens 4th Smile by night

Early darkness invites to many lights.

With Christmas coming up

what is better to combine light with Christmas

and start the Christmas season in the big garden.

Kew’s Christmas Lights!

 

My favourite new flowers in Kew!

 

 

There were light shows with music, laser light pictures projected on a screen of a water fountain, green laser lights with fog, amazing displays of colourful lights, a whole field of lights changing colour with the rhythm of the music and much more. Too much to capture everything on camera. Of course there was mulled wine and hot chocolate too!

I did capture it all in my memory!

Please click on the picture to enlarge them.

All pictures taken by me at Kew Gardens.

 

Knotted

 

Pictures taken at Kew Gardens, knotted wisteria, by me

Quotes via Google

Kew Gardens 3rd Smile

Another visit to my favourite garden.

Every time I explore different areas.

As it is so big, I never run out of finding beauties of nature.

This time I found

the making of a pinecone

 

A really funny shaped very small bloom:

(I don’t know all the botanical names, as my eyes are bigger than my memory)

 

One of my favourite grasses

 

Another pretty little thing – a hanging flower

One of Kew’s famous lizards

a tall proud multi coloured beauty

and another hanging blue miracle

 

‘Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ‘ Genesis 1,11

 

All pictures taken at Kew Gardens by me.

Shades of Green

Green is the colour of nature.

The colour of Mother Nature

The colour of Life and energy.

It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.

Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety.

Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

 

…. just look at these different greens….

so many shades

 

 

and many different shapes and textures.

 

 

Green is relaxing for me, it feels warm, yet fresh.

However I do not have many outfits in green.

Do you love green?

What is your favourite colour?

 

Pictures taken by me at Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens 2nd Smile – The weekend starts

Another wonderful day in Kew Gardens.

Please walk with me through the

Prince of Wales Conservatory

There are Orchids

 

There are meat eating plants

 

Beautiful Cacti

 

 

 

There are waterfalls

 

 

Floating Baking trays….

 

 

 

Amazing plants and colours

 

I can’t get enough of the natures variety and beautiful displays.

 

Hope you enjoy the small tour. Soak it up and relax!

Wishing all a relaxing weekend!

 

All pictures taken by me at Kew Gardens.

Please let me know if the pictures display correctly. Thanks

Kew Gardens 1st smile

In my post from 4th August I shared with you that I had become friends with Kew Gardens.

 

Last weekend

the sun was shining,

birds were singing,

and I felt free.

I made a quick decision

to visit Kew Gardens.

 

What a good choice!

I was greeted with this view.

 

Behind the Palm house was the rose garden.

For today I like you to go with me to smell the roses.

Forget the business and enjoy the smells and colours!

There is so much more……

Soon more from Kew Gardens

 

Holiday Time

Finally August and for most it is holiday time.

For me it also means time do to things around the house.

Here an update:

My wooden kitchen worktop needed a little tender loving care.

So I started to sand it down.

Now nice and smooth, I can varnish it.

Another day I made bracelets. .

I love making jewellery, make presents or sell some at markets occasionally.

I made all these with different seed beads.

 

I have in my garden an ‘elephant ear’ plant, it grows amazingly big.

 

 

As you know I love my plants and flowers.

Therefore I became a ‘friend of Kew Gardens’.

Kew Gardens is a wonderful huge botanical garden offering unique landscapes and iconic architecture from every stage of the Garden’s history.

It has a collection of living plants which is the largest and most diverse in the world growing in the gardens and in glass houses.

It is in West London and I can go by train.

I can’t wait to go, out for a day lost in the gardens……

There will be updates on this with more pictures of the gardens.

Wishing all a wonderful Summer 2018!