A Visit to Kew Gardens

Well my first visit to Kew has come and gone and left quite a good impression on me. I was able to meet quite a few people in the 'orchid world of research' and even had a quick chat with Phil Cribb! The resources for research there are quite outstanding, they have the most obscure and facinating books and journals about all facets of orchid related research. They even have a collection of botanical books from pre-Linnaeus times, dating back to 14th and 15th century, all available to read!




I got a chance to see the orchids that are permanently grown in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. There wasn't a huge amount in bloom, but enough Paphiopedilums and Phragmipediums to keep me happy! I took a picture of a longifolium just to see what the flower is meant to look like.......(remember my plant at Naomi's that ended up being a hybrid)


This is a photo of the palm house, but is a good indication of what the greenhouses look like - beautiful structures that hold even more beautiful things inside...


This last picture is of the main herbarium at Kew. Three floors and something like 4-6 million specimens. They have a separate orchid herbarium and a large spirit collection that houses a lot of 'pickled' orchids (in order to preserve their unique 3-d shape).