I really like this photo; a lone bench with colourful autumn leaves scattered about it. It makes for a sad but pretty feature, although I’m sure someone will come along soon to keep it company
Bench
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Tag Archives: Autumn
Kew Gardens – Autumn visit 3
At Kew Gardens one of the areas that was quite seasonal to the autum/winter period was the berry walk, with lots of different species of berries dotted about. I’m not sure if any were edible but they looked pretty in various colours and shades.
I found it interesting how some berries look quite similar in colour and size but the leaves on the branches and bushes look quite different or didn’t have any at all
I love the purple colour of these berries, which are called Callicarpa japonica and are not edible but can be used to make herbal tea which sounds interesting
Walking around I also spotted that there were several types of mushrooms growing, mainly under trees where dead leaves and foliage can decompose in the moist air, nourishing and encouraging fungal growth. I was quite fascinated with them as I haven’t seen so many different types of mushrooms growing in nature, but at the same time I did feel quite grossed out so I didn’t get too close and relied on my zoom to get a better look
I do quite like these ones though, the creases on the stem make it look like they have a wrapping around them
One of the things I really liked at Kew was that although it is clear to see that plants and trees have been categorised according to types, species and even climate, British nature has found a way to join in, to become part of a particular area no matter where it comes from, such as mushrooms under pine trees or squirrels up Redwoods.
My other posts of Kew Gardens can be found on the links below
Kew Gardens part 1
Kew gardens part 2
Kew Gardens – Autumn visit
I recently went to Kew Gardens in West London; the last time I went was in school and I’d been meaning to go back ever since, especially as over the last couple of years there’s been some changes. For some reason or another I just wasn’t able to go, so a couple of weeks ago I decided not to wait anymore and just go. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about going in late autumn, as I imagined that most of the trees would have shed their leaves and there wouldn’t be much to look at, as well as the point that I always imagined going in late spring/early summer to see nature blossoming. In the end I decided to go anyway and see what there was to see, and learn from the experience.
I packed my DSLR camera to take with me and got there by mid morning. I was really lucky with the weather as it was nice and bright, and not grey and cloudy like it had been in previous days. I was also pleased to see that as we’ve had a mild autumn in London so far, most of the trees still had their leaves, and many were in now in brilliant shades of yellow, red and orange, which in the bright sun looked even more magnificent.
Here are a few of the photos that I was able to take whilst there, but what I didn’t realise was just how big the Gardens were- that after walking around for about 5 hours I still hadn’t managed to see all of it!
Seeing as I managed to take lots of photos and because there’s was so much to see I’ve decided to do separate posts on different parts of Kew Gardens, this one being about the Palm House which houses plants from tropical and subtropical climates all over the world
Here’s a banana tree with bananas growing from it, with leaves so big you could place two grown ups end to end and the leaves would still be bigger! There was also a pineapple plant – these pineapples were so tiny – the size of walnuts
The walkways were full of leaves growing over it, giving you a an idea of how they would grow in their natural habitat
There was a strange looking plant growing in the Palm House too called a Cycad, that is known as a living fossil. These plants have been around before dinosaurs, living up to 2500 years long!
There is so much more to see but I don’t want to post too many photos of one area in case you want to visit the Gardens soon. I will hopefully be able to do another post soon on another part of Kew gardens
Robin
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I saw this pretty robin resting in a bare bush recently and was really pleased to be able to get quite close and capture a good photo. You can see how the colours of it’s feathers blend in perfectly with nature at this time of year, so was especially pleased I managed to spot it
Autumn leaf
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Fiery leaves
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My favourite time of the year is Autumn because the weather in London is often sunny and bright but feels cooler, and nature all around begins to change like the leaves on the trees from various greens to brilliant shades of reds, oranges and yellows. I also love Autumn because there’s less bugs around!
everyphototunity 