The very soggy weather did not dampen the spirits of a full coach of happy, chatty gardening enthusiasts that set off, on time, from St Ives bus station on Saturday 28th April for a visit to Kew Gardens. We are pleased to report that the same number returned still happy and chatty but this time full of the sights they saw during the day.
This was the first outing organised by the St Ives Gardening Club and was a good choice as Kew is a world heritage site seeped in history. It's motto is "To inspire and deliver science-based plant conservation worldwide, enhancing the quality of life." and it certainly does that in spades! The greenhouses are simply spectacular, masterpieces of Victorian architecture and the plants inside all had the wow factor.
The pond in the Waterlily house looked like a Monet painting. Everywhere was very well kept and some of the trees were truly wondrous, you could walk for miles, we certainly did, and still not see everything.
My personal favourite was the Princess of Wales Conservatory which transported you through different climate zones from jungle to desert with the most stunning plants, and an occasional lizard, to admire and wonder at. The Treetop Walkway, which is 59 feet up, was a favourite with some and one of our group actually saw wild parakeets in the tree tops.
So thanks to King George 11 and Queen Caroline, who started it all in 1718, and to Robin Bletsoe and his team for making our visit possible. The next outing is Hyde Hall in Essex on Saturday 8th September so contact Robin on 01480 380309 to register your interest, or email robin.bletsoe@yahoo.com.
Here's some photos from the day.
Norma
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment