Every year Kew Gardens cheers up the cold February days with a sumptuous display of orchids in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. I never miss it – it’s such a great contrast to the grey days at the fag end of winter, as the steamy warmth surrounds you and the riot of colour awakens your senses ready for another year. Continue reading
We’re a week into May (2016) and you might have thought the cherry blossom season, which normally peaks in mid to late April, would be over by now. But you’d be wrong, because the cherry blossom avenue in Greenwich Park turned out to be in full glorious flower when I went along to take a look a few days ago – and I’ve got the pictures to prove it. Continue reading
Last year there was no cherry blossom on the famous cherry blossom avenue in Regent’s Park. The trees had been cut down before they had a chance to bloom, and Chester Avenue was a sad sight that spring. But the old trees have given way to new ones which are now flowering for the first time. Of course I’ve been to take a look. Continue reading
St James’s Park is ranked at number four in my London Parks Cherry Blossom Top Five Guide. It’s right in the centre of London and has a beautiful lake so it was bound to make the cut, but it doesn’t have great swathes of cherry trees. It’s quality not quantity that gives it its place. Take a walk around my virtual tour to see why. Continue reading
Here we are, nearly half way through April, the weather’s getting better and the cherry trees are coming into bloom, so it’s time for an update on the current state of the blossom. This update focuses on two of the top five places in my guide to the best cherry blossom viewing spots in London. Continue reading
Last summer, Yannick and I visited Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa built by the third Earl of Burlington in 1729. The gardens, restored in a two year, twelve million pound project and reopened in 2010, were glorious, but there was one thing we missed seeing – the camellias, which bloom in February/March. I vowed then to come back for the annual camellia festival in the amazing two hundred year old conservatory, so last week saw us on the train to Chiswick once again. Continue reading
Every year, in February, Kew Gardens puts on its famous orchids display in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. It’s wonderful to visit and spend some time in the damp warmth of a tropical rain forest while outside the glass it’s bone-freezingly cold, and let the vivid colours and fantastic shapes of the orchids take you to a different world. Continue reading
Okay, I plead guilty to this one. Sometimes, especially at this time of year when I’m waiting for the first cherry blossom to bloom, I might have got my plum blossom and my cherry blossom mixed up. But it’s not going to happen any more, no sirree. I’ve done my research and now I know how to spot the difference. I bet you want to know too, so I’m going to share with you my handy three point guide to telling them apart. Continue reading
The snowdrops are early this year. So early that the Chelsea Physic Garden had to rearrange its snowdrop days to take place sooner than usual, which explains why Yannick and I found ourself venturing out in the middle of last week’s cold snap to see them. And nearly freezing our fingers off taking photos for you. You’re welcome. Continue reading
I was a bit dubious when Yannick suggested going to see the Sky Garden at the top of the Walkie Talkie building on a rather grey December day. I’d seen all those lovely sunny photos people had taken back in the summer and I couldn’t help feeling we just weren’t going to get the right light. But you know what? We got something just as interesting – an atmospheric smoky glow with a charm all its own. Plus a bonus as the early sunset showed us the garden after dark as well. Continue reading
