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Kew Gardens, Maker of Sore Feet
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew started out as part of royal estates and eventually became open to the public like the big parks in London. It's around 300 acres and has thousands of species of trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. They do conservation and experimental work as well. I think I expected more of the massive beds of flowers than I saw, but that is more of park stuff than a botanical garden. Not that they din't have plenty though.
Also there is Kew Palace, the summer home of George III (the one we threw out of America.) It was the start of the eventual gardens. Georgie bought the country estate and turned it from a comfortable estate for a country gentleman into a very small palace for a king with 15 children. Many were grown, so he only had some of the girls here. Below are some pictures of the really nice gardens behind the palace.
King George eventually went mad and blind, and the Prince of Wales took over as Prince Regent. Mad George was packed off to finish his days at Windsor Castle, and Queen Charlotte stayed at Kew until she died here in her bedroom in the black chair. They didn't tell George and spread straw around St. George's Chapel at Windsor so George couldn't hear the queen's funeral procession.
The vest the poor old guy wore in his last crazy days.
The garden fromthe upstairs. The blue stuff is Russian sage.
The dining room, not all that big. The girls sat in strict order, spoke only when spoken to, and ate fast because George didn't like to waste time on eating. They were musical, however, and did play the organ. Probably very short tunes.
In the 1700s landscapes often featured what were called "follies," all kinds of little buildings, etc. that were little (or big) surprises in the landscape. There were originally dozens here. Only a few still remain. They loved Chinese things--hence the pagoda.
Some of the big attractions are the big "glass houses" with their different climates and kinds of plants. Some are old, some new. This one has 16,000 pieces of curved, fitted glass.
Some artists were doing sculptures in wicker of seeds and seed pods. This one is about 12 feet tall.
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew started out as part of royal estates and eventually became open to the public like the big parks in London. It's around 300 acres and has thousands of species of trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. They do conservation and experimental work as well. I think I expected more of the massive beds of flowers than I saw, but that is more of park stuff than a botanical garden. Not that they din't have plenty though.
Also there is Kew Palace, the summer home of George III (the one we threw out of America.) It was the start of the eventual gardens. Georgie bought the country estate and turned it from a comfortable estate for a country gentleman into a very small palace for a king with 15 children. Many were grown, so he only had some of the girls here. Below are some pictures of the really nice gardens behind the palace.
King George eventually went mad and blind, and the Prince of Wales took over as Prince Regent. Mad George was packed off to finish his days at Windsor Castle, and Queen Charlotte stayed at Kew until she died here in her bedroom in the black chair. They didn't tell George and spread straw around St. George's Chapel at Windsor so George couldn't hear the queen's funeral procession.
The vest the poor old guy wore in his last crazy days.
The garden fromthe upstairs. The blue stuff is Russian sage.
The dining room, not all that big. The girls sat in strict order, spoke only when spoken to, and ate fast because George didn't like to waste time on eating. They were musical, however, and did play the organ. Probably very short tunes.
In the 1700s landscapes often featured what were called "follies," all kinds of little buildings, etc. that were little (or big) surprises in the landscape. There were originally dozens here. Only a few still remain. They loved Chinese things--hence the pagoda.
Some of the big attractions are the big "glass houses" with their different climates and kinds of plants. Some are old, some new. This one has 16,000 pieces of curved, fitted glass.
Some artists were doing sculptures in wicker of seeds and seed pods. This one is about 12 feet tall.
This plant is called Titan Arum. I swear--it's a real plant. It blooms only once every 7 to 8 years. It bloomed just for my visit. Bizarre doesn't cover it. Oh, it's about five feet tall, not counting the pot.
In case you want to get up among the tree tops in this glass house, you can climb this staircase.
This one is from the Victorian period. I love the look; I want one.
Now, this is what I call a shrub.
And just so you know I was here, here I am surrounded by lavender--what a heavenly smell!
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