For the love of Blue Bells


The Chokushi Mon Garden

If Jane could live in the Palm House at Kew Gardens she would. This spectacular 120+ hectares of garden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has always been one of Jane's favorite places to visit. The variety of plant species and cultivated landscapes make for a very relaxing walk. Jane's Granny loves Blue Bells and Kew is a wonderful place to see them in bloom. Blue Bells are at their peak of color during April, but as it is early May they are still lovely. These perennial wild flowers are native to Britain and are protected under the Wildflower and Countryside act. We arrived at the main entrance to Kew just past noon and began our walk heading towards the Blue Bell fields. We walked along the perimeter path on the west side of the park. Shortly we passed the pagoda and the Chokushi Mon.

The Pagoda
The Pagoda was once covered with ceramic tiles and adorned with large dragons. There is is a tale that the dragons were made of gold and and were sold by George IV to pay his debts. In reality the dragons were made of gold painted wood and were damaged by rot and time. There are 250+ stairs leading up to the top of the Pagoda, however it is currently closed to the public as it has been for many years. During World War 2, holes were cut in each floor in order to drop-test model bombs.

The Chokushi Mon is a replica of the Karamon Gateway and was constructed for the 1910 Japan - Britain Exhibition.

Rounding the bend we reached the Queen Charlotte's Summer Cottage. This old structure was a seasonal home given to the Queen on her wedding by her husband, George the 3rd.

Behind the cottage stretched fields of Blue Bells interlaced with white and purple wildflowers. We sat and watched the bees buzzing and the flowers swaying in the breeze. As the sun was just breaking through the clouds, the colors changed from minute to minute. Just when you thought it was at the height of vibrancy, the sun would brighten even further and the colors became more saturated.

Blue Bells
 Song of Secret Love 
by John Clare (1793-1864)

I hid my love when young while I
Couldn't bear the buzzing of a fly

I hid my love to my despite
Till I could not bear to look at light
I dare not gaze upon her face
But left her memory in each place
Where ere I saw a wild flower lie

I kissed and bade my love goodbye

I met her in the greenest dells
Where dew drops pearl the wood bluebells
The lost breeze kissed her bright blue eye
The bee kissed and went singing by
A sunbeam found a passage there
A gold chain round her neck so fair

As secret as the wild bee's song
She lay there all the summer long

I hid my love in field and town
Till e'en the breeze would knock me down
The bees seemed singing ballads l'er
The fly's buss turned a Lion's roar
And even silence found a tongue
To haunt me all the summer long
The riddle nature could not prove
Was nothing else but secret
love


A little pile of little baby geese
We eventually continued on. The sun was now shining bright as we walked to the Lake. We walked along the edge and watched the ducks, geese and swans going about their day. Along the way we saw many little fluffy piles of baby ducks and geese.

We walked across the Sackler Crossing to the Minka House and Bamboo gardens. The Minka house is a traditional 1900's Japanese wooden house that was once located in Okasaki, Japan. The Bamboo garden is filled with hundreds of varieties of Bamboo and other related plants.

Palm House (aka Jane's Dream home)
The iron stairs leading to
the catwalk in Palm House
Next we visited the palm house. This iron greenhouse was built in the mid 1800's. Walking inside you are immediately transported into a lush jungle. It is filled with hundreds of palm varieties and many endangered tropical plants. Inside there are two spiral staircases leading up to a catwalk from where you can feel as if you are a bird in the leaves of these giant palms.



We walked around the Azela Gardens, through the waterlily house and onto the cafe. We ate some sandwiches and tea, while sitting in the sunshine.

Lily house
Interior of Palm House
As Granny was getting tired we decided it was best to head home. We had visited Kew last year so we felt as if we had experienced most of the grounds.

However, there are so many amazing places and gardens to see that it never gets old. One of the most interesting things is the giant compost heap. With all the green litter created by the many trees and plants, Kew has the largest compost pile in Britain. While it is not open to the public, you can look over it from the Treetop Walkway. As we left we knew that this would not be our last visit to Kew.  





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