Please form an orderly Kew

As we were out and about anyway to drop Cat at Thorpe Park, we went onwards to Kew Gardens, which was on Kristina's must-visit list...

...it didn't start well as I'd only been out of the car for 15 seconds when a wasp flew behind my glasses and stung me just under my right eye.

Luckily my shock wasn't anaphylactic, so we pressed on

Unicorn!

Tower!!

The Palm House

We go here first as it closes first.

They have many statues at the Palm House

...including Scooby Doo!

Invasive insect?

Like the wasp earlier, no doubt

Teeny weeny bananareeny

Nature's own feather boa

Nature's own fake

orange rabbit figures

Bamboozled

Sadly we can't climb the

spiral staircase here

Cor Al look at this!

These spooky creatures pop their heads

(and bodies) right out of the sand.

Reminds me of something...

Hattifatteners from the

Moomin stories

Didn't think this was real at first

Wonderful colours

Catfish giving me the eye

Leaving the Palm House we

spot the pagoda in the distance

We find a bench in a shaded spot

Very peaceful

The secret is revealed about the

origin of Douglas Fir banks.

Geddit?!!

We find the treetops

walkway and ascend

Up in the air

Magical architecture

Can't now remember what this tree was called.

It'll be bugging me for days now

- unless Kristina remembers :)

Me: pork pie, salad

(and potato salad); ginger beer

Kristina: asparagas & pea quiche,

salad including water-melon

and feta cheese;

rose pink lemonade

She wins the today's

adventurous food award

Pagoda - sadly you can't climb it

Japanese Zen-style garden

Japanese Shrine

Fabulous wood, but somehow

it makes me think of

dark and white chocolate

Birds of paradise

I love the greenery and metal combination,

like nature reclaiming the structure.

Fern from above!

Tempting! but I don't work here,

so best not

Nature strikes back again

At last we make the spiral staircase

Up and down

Awesome view

Kristina poses by the

Castlemaine 4X wall

Imperfect panorama but still cool

Floral trumpets of colour

Purple awesomeness

The Whomping Willow?

Shiny art

Ah!

(wait for it...)

Living stone, I presume

I called this cactus Spike

I call this a spade

Lotus - we learn it's not

technically a lily

Meat-eaters

Explosion

Orchids

Stone pine - source of pine nuts :)

Bamboozled again

Cool spirals

More purple extravagance

Monkey Puzzle

Time for a cuppa

Kristina goes for the

strawberry and pistachio tart

and wins again

Thank Kew very much