The Day Started Nice And Bright,

I made my way to the station,

 to meet up with Steve,

 we were going to Kew Gardens,

 both Diana and Kai said they did not want to go again, as they already had seen the orchids,

 so it was just Steve and myself,

 the orchid display was basically the same as our last visit in February, 

 but there was still lots to see as many of the plants were now in full flower, at the beginning of the exhibition when we visited a number were still not quite open,

 the downside was that there were so many more people on this visit,

 than when we were here last time, which was for members of Kew Gardens only, today non-members were here as well, 

 but it was still so enjoyable,

 looking at the displays,

 and moss covered creatures, 

 like this Cuscus, they are in fact marsupials, and are related to kangaroos and possums, this particular one is the Blue-eyed Spotted Cuscus, (Spilocuscus wilsoni), 

 I continued past some of the orchid displays, all of the plants here for this years display comes from Indonesia,

 unfortunately,

 the waterfall had stopped working,

 but there was still plenty to look at,

 like this solitary orchid in flower,

 here a group,

 of dark blood red flowers,

 others,

 with fantastical petals,

 and large pots of flowers were everywhere, what a great show, I wonder which country will be featured in next years display? 

 outside,

 the daffodils were putting on a good show, amazingly there are over 13,000 varieties of daffodil!

 this will look nice in a few months time, a circle of wisteria,

 nearby a water feature, which again like the one in the orchid display was not working,

 looking back towards the greenhouse where the display was being held,

 a clump of bamboo, we must be near the bamboo section,

 by now the rain had started, 

 the sky had darkened over and it had become quite chilly,

 not to worry we both had waterproofs on,

 I just love these,

monkey puzzle trees, (Araucaria araucana),

 we passed more beds of daffodils,

 before arriving at the magnolia garden,

 I was aware that there were more than a few varieties of them,

 walking around Beckenham,

 at this time of the year you can not fail to notice them,

 with their flowers bright amongst other trees and shrubs that have yet to come to life after the winters cold,

 from white,

 through various shades of pink, there are even some that are yellow, there are over 200 species of them,

 some growing huge like this one,

 the thing is that they seem to flower before many other groups of trees and plants, 

 this one with no leaves on the tree at all,

 a last look at the magnolias,

 then to the lake,

 the red of the dogwood,

 standing out against the other plants at the waters edge,

 we were now in bamboo country, 

 Steve and myself both like bamboo, each bamboo 'ringed',

 and there are lots here to look at, 

 each variety has its own 'space',

 the plant is a very invasive species,

 so each plant has a round open bottom tub placed around it, to stop it spreading,

 some of the stems are so attractive,

 like this one, 

 the bamboo section is next to the rhododendrons,

 which unfortunately were not in flower,

 but the camellias were, 

 some had even almost finished flowering,

 we made our way back,

 the gardeners making a show of primroses,

 in front of the Palm House,

 and by the side of the pond,

 a last look,

 and then into the shop,

 a quick look at the metalwork birds,

 every garden pond should have one!

 another group of plants I like, 

 the insectivorous ones,

 like these,

 as you might expect,

 with the orchid show in full bloom,

 there were lots of orchids for sale,

 some like this one, had flowers barely a half an inch across,

 there were of course,

 lots of full sized plants for sale,

 by now Steve had worked up quite an appetite, well he had been out for a long run before meeting up with me,

 for myself I was just thirsty, 

 the rain had stopped,

 and we were drying out,

 before leaving,

 I had a look at the memorial,

 to the Kew Guild and Royal Botanic Staff who were killed or missing in both wars,

 we next walked through the sales area,

 lots to choose from,

 greenhouses for sale as well, if only we had a garden!

 a last look and we were off,

 to Chinatown,

 which considering it was a Sunday, was lacking the normal crowds, 

 first stop for me, pick up some cakes for Diana, from her favorite cake shop, Mamasons, 

 next somewhere to eat,

and this was our choice, Feng Shui Inn,

 'Cheers!',

 the restaurant was nicely decorated, but for a Sunday afternoon was quiet, including Steve and myself there were just 6 dinners here,

 after some prawn crackers, some crispy duck,

 on to mains, sizzling chicken for myself,

 Steve went with a hot spicy, chilly beef dish,

 we also had beef fried rice, which neither of us had heard of before,

 I had bought Diana cakes, Steve bought some crispy duck and pork to take home for Kai, 

 we then had a walk, taking in the sights and sounds of Chinatown,

 at the end of one street a little piece of street theater as musicians entertained the crowd,

 we were now on our way to the station, 

I said farewell to Steve and made a move for home, in the evening we both watched a few quiz shows, a New Tricks and then for us we were off to bed.