Close, closer, close-up – Aloe africanum in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew – a majestic specimen in flower, with nectar beading in the warm dry conditions. My new Sigma macro lens made a pretty good job of capturing the detail, even though I had to lean precariously over from the path, across some rather spiny specimens, to get that little bit closer. I’m sure I could have continued to zoom into the detail even more, though feared toppling over …
Elsewhere in these glasshouses, the last few days of the annual orchid extravaganza were upon me, themed around a Brazilian adventure, and the Kew Team really had pulled out all the stops. Quite, quite stunning!
While just one plant in the clam-shell designed Davies Alpine House really, really caught my attention, this Bergenia emeiensis – which I promise is a real thing and not just made up of icing sugar and marzipan!
The Teddington Gardener 