Kew Gardens~a walk in the trees

Lovely blog, Arlene...
Lots of fantastic photos....
and... I like your blue top. ;o)

Ooooo, a garden blog! Lovely tour, Arlene - thanks for taking us with you, you must have walked for miles. Some wonderful trees there particularly in the penultimate photo. Thanks again.

~thanks TT~ we have lots more photos but don't want to be boring...

Arlene ~ you - boring ? Never !!!

~yes Wagger we were there from 11 am to 4.30 and had to have a couple of pitstops for food and and a rest!~you should try their cake!!!!

Lovely pictures Arlene :)

Beautiful trees Arlene,it's strange that we have had such a wet summer and yet there are still certain areas with drought ! I suppose it came at the wrong time,a lot of plants seem to be confused, after a cold spell they are starting to flower as if it's spring !!
The grass looks very parched,were you there recently ?

~Thanks TT!

~yes last Monday the 14th~the grass was very dry and some of the smaller trees were a bit distressed~

Love the taking of the photos a refection of you taking photo s of your self taking photos, look in the black plinths. Beautiful blog lovely flowers on some of those trees, lovely palm tree too its georgous.

Arlene, nice to see a real blog on gardens and plants especially the trees for a change, instead of some of the nonsense this site seems to favour lately. Also don't be shy with the photos they're not boring.

Thank you Arlene, I enjoyed your blog.
I love trees, I was wondering if you saw a Tulip Tree and sure enough, you did. Some real beauties there.

Arlene I havent visited Kew since we left London (just found some photos of that time) thanks for bringing it back

I've not been here for years and years so thank you for taking me on a wander down memory lane! It was lovely!

~thanks everyone~I am glad you enjoyed our ramble which covered about a third of the available area of the gardens~
Thanks Bluespruce~ I love trees,where would be without them?~ and Kew is one my favourite places to visit .
A british Institution to be totally proud of.!~not many of them about these days!
Coming back to Wales down the M4 is always a pleasure as it is so heavily wooded still~thank goodness!
Whilst there this last time they had an outdoors laminated collection of the photos from the winners of Garden Photographer of the year ~book 2~they were arranged well and attracted a lot of attention.We did take photos but copyright issues would prevent us posting them~however I will be getting the book from Amazon at a much reduced price.
Also there was a new exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood gallery~some of those people who spent their time producing exquisite drawings deserve a wider audience~if you can go it's a grand day out as they say!

Thanks Arlene, I `ve enjoyed this blog and you have taken some lovely photo`s, I`m pleased to say I am visiting Kew in Oct.for the first time and really looking forward to it.........

~that's great~ the trees will be really autumnal by then.
If you get there fairly early you can park outside and don't forget to wear flat shoes or boots!
Also if you do buy plants you don't have so far to carry them....!
I hope you have a great time~will speak to you before then and give you some hints and tips.

Thanks Arlene that was very interesting, a great blog and some lovely shots too.

Thanks Arlene....Lovely blog and lovely photos.

Thanks for the photos, brings back memories of my last trip :) It's a wonderful place to spend a day or three :))))

Excellent blog Arlene ,did your guide say why the tree was in such a strong cage?

I think the woolemi pine was a new species found in Australia so Kew had some seeds or sapplings to bring on over here.There was a tv prog about it,the guys from Kew went over there to get them.So very precious :)

You can buy them now in 3 litre pots for a mere £59.95 INCLUDING delivery. I know how we all love a bargain, lol.

Don't they grow to be.......ever so tall ?

About 20 metres apparently, Aster but you can also keep it in a pot and prune it to keep it in shape.

~my husband bought me a Wollemi from Kew for Christmas two years ago and they were much more expensive then~ they are quite slow growing~

Wollemi facts
Fast Facts
..............................
Claim to fame One of the world's oldest and rarest trees
Scientific name Wollemia nobilis
Family Araucariaceae
Relatives Kauri, Norfolk Island, Hoop, Bunya and Monkey Puzzle pines
When discovered 1994
Where discovered 200km west of Sydney in a rainforest gorge within the 500,000 hectare Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains
Discovered by David Noble, a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Officer and avid bushwalker
Age The Wollemi Pine belongs to the 200 million year old Araucariaceae family
Oldest known fossil 90 million years
Wild population Less than 100 mature trees
Characteristics Conifer with attractive, unusual dark green foliage, bubbly bark and sprouts multiple trunks
Growth habit

Fast growing in light, favours acid soils, and temperatures from - 5 to 45°C (23 to 113°F). Trials in the USA and Japan have indicated that it will survive temperatures as cold as -12°C (10.4 °F).
Size The largest wild Wollemi Pine in the rainforest gorge is 40m tall with a main trunk of 63cm in width
Release date 2006 (check here for more details)
Conservation Royalties from sales of the Wollemi Pine to support conservation of the Wollemi Pine and other rare and endangered plant species
Best use Unique gift for special occasions (birthday, wedding, christening), a stunning patio and indoor plant (in well lit positions) and feature tree for parks and large gardens

Wow Arlene-thanks for the info :)

Enjoyed this very much...loved the fullness of the Monkey puzzle ..do not see that often..most I have seen here are still young enough to be sparsely limbed...loved the wthe sprwling birch as well...