Another good thing to do if you get a minute is go to Kew Gardens. I’ve got some lovely pictures of Kew Gardens in the snow last week. Very inviting then to step out of the cold and into the tropics….the lovely humid warm environment of their Tropical Extravaganza annual display featured in the Prince of Wales Conservatory.
Kew’s Tropical Extravaganza runs until the 4 March. The theme this year is “Forces Of Nature” – the elements – fire, water, air and earth and the plants are arranged according to colour. Fire – bad when it’s to clear forests, good because lots of plants need fire to germinate their seeds etc. Water – features the mangroves with interpretation about their importance for biodiversity and the livelihoods of fishermen. Earth – lots of models of fungi to demonstrate their importance in recycling nutrients. Air – seed dispersal, with a model of a ‘tefe rose’ pod bursting and releasing seeds that drift off on air currents. The conservatory is packed with 6,500 orchids and other tropical plants from Holland in addition to Kew’s normal tropical plants. Lots more info on the website. There is also a 3 minute stills sequence on the BBC homepage about Kew Tropex with a voiceover by Lara Jewitt who is in charge of the Prince of Wales Conservatory.
A very enterprising snow rabbit…
Arty shot of icy lake:-
Inside the tropical display:-
There is even a smiley fish:-
Den Jackson
February 21, 2012Hey There Familyaffairsandothermatters,
Thanks for that, Love at first sight. You hear the stories of two people meeting for the first time, and they “fall in love at first sight”. It’s a very magical experience, and it is happening over and over again with more and more frequency all over the world involving more and more people.
Cheers
Family Affairs
February 21, 2012You’re very welcome – not sure your comment is particularly relevant to the Kew Gardens Tropical Extravaganza but going to post it anyway because it’s quite funny Lx