Henri Moore at Kew gardens

Kew Gardens is always a pleasure. Its South Eastern corner, Victoria gate entrance, is formal in the landscape gradually relaxes towards the North Western corner where a wild conservation area lies behind protective 'do not enter signs'. There are many attractions en route, including

Stag beetle loggery, Rhododendron Dell, Bamboo garden, badger sett- this is an interactive 'be a badger installation', its fun and gets everybody interested and engaged.

as . The woods here are managed as a nature reserve and native plants and animals are encouraged, using traditional methods and management techniques such as coppicing. Kew also grows many non native species including Sweet Chestnut coppice's. Bluebells flourish in the spring and among the birds that can be seen are tawny owls, blue and great tits, sparrowhawks and green woodpeckers. The area also supports many insects, including rare hover flies.

the redwood grove is striking in age (Many of the redwoods are 150 years old) and colour and attracts the most beautiful exotic birds.

Ancient, dwindling specimens conserved with railings, the railings are ugly but strangely increase interest

The current Henri Moore exhibition is a bonus

click this link

I feel the sculptures sat in the Bretton Hills of the Yorkshire Sculpture park more fittingly, where they have more space. The large sculptures at Kew seem a crammed and plonked in, as do some of the attraction landscapes. I think the sculptures should have been placed further apart across the entire site rather than being bunched togeather in a formal area near the Victoria gate.


However the exhibition attracted people to Kew who might not have gone otherwise whilst offering Londoners and tourists a unique opportunity to see the world famous work in a world famous botanical setting. The combination is enticing.

house Boats Shad Thames

click for Open Garden Squares weekend

'The Pheonix Garden Run as an ecological garden the planting is a mix of ornamental and native species to encourage a wide range of wildlife. The site is sheltered and almost frost free and half hardy plants thrive including bananas, Echium and shrubby Pelargoniums. Areas of the garden have been developed as habitats with log stacks, ponds and a wildflower bank. The garden supports a large population of common frogs, stag beetles live in the rotting logs and resident breeding birds: blue and great tits, blackbirds, robin and wrens can usually be seen. Flocks of house sparrow and greenfinch visit daily and occasional visitors include kestrel, sparrowhawk, woodpecker, mallard and wagtails. The Phoenix Garden has won first prize for Best Environmental Garden in the Camden in Bloom competition for the past five years.'

& all in the secret heart of London- Faboulous!

The house boats in Shad Thames are in an ideal location. We spoke to a resident who rocked up there 5 years ago when he ran out of fuel & hadn't budged since! However there is now a company renovating the old barges & renting them out at around £250 per month.
One of the boat roofs is dedicated to the communities bikes, the others are gardens, & it is possible to hop from one boat to another willy nilly.