A Visit to Kew Gardens

Today is grey and damp, with the weekend promising more of the same and the temperatures trending downwards (chiz chiz as N Molesworth the goriller of form 3B would sa). But yesterday, when it was mostly fine and occasionally sunny, The Wugster and I went to Kew Gardens, for which she has purchased an annual pass allowing her and one guest an unlimited number of visits; four such visits, and the pass has paid for itself (especially as ticket prices may have to rise to make up some of the continuing cuts in government funding). (Which of course government spokescreatures claim are not actually cuts at all.)

The Wugster was interested primarily in the displays of azaleas and rhododendrons, which are currently in or coming into bloom; I was interested primarily in photographing things, and doing a spot of birdwatching in between: Emirates Airlines Airbus A380, Malaysian Airlines short 747, numerous British Airways 737 and 767 variants, and so on....because Kew Gardens is directly under the approach path to Heathrow Airport, and it seems that crossing the garden boundary is the signal to the pilots to lower the aircrafts' landing gear: you can see the wheel wells open and the undercarriage extend, and hear the pitch of the engines rise as the pilots have to increase thrust to compensate for the extra drag. Hours of fun, for those who might be interested in such things.

Anyway, here are some photographs of the azaleas, together with a photograph of The Wugster taking a photograph of some rhododendrons. Then we strolled to the end of Syon Vista, walked along the lake photographing coots and coot chicks, and went up the treetop walkway before exiting via the gift shop where one or two new plants for the garden were acquired.