We all got a great nights sleep and were up and out this morning by 9 a.m. headed to Ham House and Gardens. It was a beautiful day.
The garden had some beautiful formal areas,
and then some that were a bit more wild,
along with some large vegetable gardens.
The house did not open until after we would have left, so we just did the gardens, but they were lovely.
It was not a far drive to our last and final stop at Kew Gardens.
Kew is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. and it gets better every time I go For some it was a first time visit, and they tried to pack in as much as they could in 4 hours. We lucked out in that they have a Chihuly exhibit ongoing through October.
The long flowering border is spectacular,
but so were the many displays of flowering onions (alliums) in both purple and white.
The laburnum (Golden Chain Trees)
were in their glory as were the rock rose (Cistus) in a variety of colors.
The glass temperate house was open after a five year renovation and it was lovely.
So many unique plants. The rock roses (Cistus) were everywhere.
I need to try them. I also properly identified a Fremonti
Everywhere we went there were blooming plants
There was a nice crowd but not overly crowded. Lots of school groups and we got to see the new childrens garden which has not been open long.
It was another great day with so many new plants, and some old ones.
Tonight Chris and I had dinner with her sister from Scotlant.
Tomorrow is the big day --CHELSEA!