Kew Gardens

I have inadvertently left a 2 day gap in my journal as I have forgotten to take a photo since I got back from Spain.  I've been too busy catching up on all the things that have piled up while I was away and starting to tackle all my photos of Spain.

However, today I met an old friend in Kew.  First we went into St Anne's Church, Kew Green, which was built in 1714 with some starter funds from Queen Anne who had a palace nearby (in what is now Kew Gardens).  The church is open this week for "Open House" and is a beautifully maintained space with clearly an engaged congregation.

Then we wandered round the "working" parts of Kew Gardens where they have their demonstration gardens which are bursting with autumn colour.  We finished up in the Princess of Wales Conservatory where I snapped the giant waterlily in the extra.  The flower bud is at least a foot across and the glorious leaves with their pink borders are about 5 feet across.  I didn't snap them but there were two of the biggest blond carp I have ever seen lazing around, perfectly in scale with the giant plants.