Kew Royal Botanical Garden, London

Well after a very busy Saturday in London I decided I wanted some more and went to the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew just on the outskirts of London.  I went with a friend by car and we were there in about a half hour with very little traffic.  I was there right at 9:30 when it opened and spent almost the entire day there til about five.  I was able to get in for free with my Wisley staff pass which was nice.  It was a lovely free day in London.  It was quiet when I got there, there were very few people around, but it was still quite chilly that early in the morning.  As I was walking in I saw a peacock and was very showy and loved having its picture taken.  They have a tree canopy walk that I went on right away when I got there.  I sucked up my fear of heights and went 18  meters about 60 ft in the air so I was up on the tree canopy.  There was then a mesh wire cat walk around the tree tops from which you got an amazing view of the rest of the gardens.  Every now and then you would step just right on the mesh and it would sink and spring back due to warping over time.  Everytime this happened my stomach would turn a little but the little uncomfort was worth the reward.  After that I just meandered through the rest of the gardens and their numerous glasshouses.  Most of the glasshouses were very old and were quite amazing and the atmosphere they created was captivating.  They even let you walk up some of the access stair to the upper balcony so you could walk around the top of some of the glasshouses.

Today was my first day on formal.  It rained hard this morning so it put a damper on our plans of installing one of the winter bedding schemes and we were sent to seed instead to clean seed that had bee collected.

Fish and Chips and London Round Two

Hey Everybody

I have had an amazing past few days.  Friday was my last day in propagation it was sad but I had a good two weeks.  The compost tea we mixed on Wednesday was done brewing so I was able to water some of the plants with it.  At right Paul is dishing out the ready compost tea.  This concotion uses beneficial bacteria to battle harmful bacteria and fungus that may attack the plants.  Friday involved repotting some aeoniums that needed overwintering because they are not hardy here and potting up more the of the tender perennials for next year.  For lunch of Friday I went to the staff canteen with some of my propagation coworkers for fish and chips Friday.  It was my first UK fish and chips experience and it wasn't bad; I was quite full afterwards though. No room for dessert.  You can see me below with my fish and chips as well as some of my coworkers eating at the canteen (left to right Lauron, Seifried, Rohanna, and Chris). 
















Friday I did some laundry and caught up with all of the work that had been building up for the week.  Saturday I went to London with Barney and Rohanna(seen below).  We took the train from West Byfleet into London Waterloo. I got a young persons railpass for a trip to and from london on the train and unlimited use of the underground for the day it cost me about 10 pounds which was worth every penny.  when we arrived in London we hopped on the underground and headed to Oxford Square which is like Rodeo Drive or something it is a long street filled with lots of larde shopping stores.  They has H&M and GAP were some of the stores I recognized.  As we were walking to our next destination we passed Harrods the Macy's of London and there window advertisment right now showcases the movie skyfall the new bond movie that is coming out it was pretty cool since I am a bit of a bond fan!  We finally got to our next destination the Victoria and Albert Museum or the V&A.  We stopped at the cafe when we first got there to have tea and cake before we set off to explore the museum.  The cafe building was amazing the atmosphere was just incredible they had a musician playing the piano in the background, there were large globe chandeliers, and the entire room was intricately tiled.  I had a slice of chocolate as I can never pass up a chance to have chocolate.  After the break we were refreshed and ready to see the museum.  They had a special exhibiton going on featuring ball gowns which was quite cool to see.  After the museum we headed back to the gardens.  We caught the train and we were back a little after dinner.  It was an amazing day and I had a blast. 

Potting in Propagation

 Hey only one more day on propagation:(  Had a pretty interesting week.  I learned about compost tea on Wednesday as seen on the right and left.  Pretty cool they mix it up and then let it brew til Friday and then disperse it to the different departments of the garden and they use it as needed.  However they need to use it shortly after recieving it because the bacteria in the mix don't survive long in the tea.  The rest of Wednesday and Thursday were spent topping up all of the cuttings they had accumulated over the last few weeks.  After taking root they had to be bumped up so they could grow larger.  The garden is just starting to turn and the fall colors are amazing.  A forsythia seen at right is a gorgeous mix of reb pink and orange.  While walking in the orchard during lunch today I saw this pheasant wondering and it looked like a good picture with the long orchard rows.  Today I spent some time in the reception area of propagation where plant material enters the garden and is monitored for pests and disease until it is okayed to go out into the garden.  In one of the reception houses was a pulmonaria which is native to Hawaii I think but it produces the beautiful smelling flowers that they use to make leis.  Wednesday night Leila my roommate and Jacks another trainee went for an outing to Sainsbury one of our local supermarkets.  I took a few picks of my food just thought it would be cool to show you what I have been living on peanut butter, apples, and cereal among other things.  You can see some of my british biscuits(cookies) that they like to eat with thier tea.  I have to admit that I haven't quite gotten into the tea but I am a big fan of hot chocolate.  Also I bought beef/hamburger or minced steak.  I figured it cost about 3 pounds per pound which is about 5 dollars per pound.  All the meat and produce veggies and fruit are much more expensive here.  Nothing is really produced on the island so everything is shipped in which increases the prices a lot.  Shopping has been difficult but I am starting to get the hang of it.  Things are going great here settling in, sad to be leaving prop but looking forward to working formal my new department.

Propagation and BBQ

Hey all
 Started the week on propagation again.  Spent most of Monday moving violas from the greenhouse outside so they can be hardened off and then put in the ground.  I also got to propagate some opuntias which are commonly known as prickly pear cactus.  How cool is that.  It was a bit prickly but I wore my gloves so it wasn't to bad.  Today we did a bit of plant material collecting, cutting propagation, and repotting.  I have had so much fun in the propagation department and have learned so much I'm going to be sad to go.  There is so much more to learn but so little time.  It has been rather dreary here this week.  I just got back from a bbq put on by work.  Spent some time mingling with other workers and trainees and eating some food.  I had a burger, a cider, and some sides which was a nice free meal that I didn't have to cook.  I did try to make a cake tonight which didn't turn out half bad, its edible.  Going to go to bed early work has been rather tiring and have to keep myself  in top shape so I don't get sick.  Here are some of my pictures from the week so far!

London Here I Come

Wow London was awesome!  It was a lot like New York good public transportation, a lot of walking, and people everywhere.  Lizanne and I took the train from Woking to London Waterloo, it took us about half an hour to get there.  After leaving the station we were right in the heart of London with the London Eye, the Houses of Parliment and Big Ben in plain sight.  We also went to check out Buckinham Palace as well as Westminster Abbey.  The flag was flying at the palace so I think the queen was actually in side the palace when we went by how cool.  We also walked by the royal residence of Prince Charles and Camilla.  I got to see the guys in the goofy hats standing guard at the gates.  There was just so much to take in I was pretty beat by the time I got back Saturday evening.  Everything was just so pretty though they have lots of parks and little farmers markets it was just too much to take in in one day.  It is so easy to get to London though from where I am staying it would be nothing to go there for the day.  If you go at the right time off peak I was able to get my train ticket which was there and back for a little over eight pounds which is about $13 not bad for a day trip.  On the way back from London we got a bit to chatty and missed our stop but luckily the next stop was only a few minutes away not a few hours.  So we got off at the next stop and hopped a train back to our stop.  It was nice kind of having a guide to help me along the first time I would have had a pretty tough time without Lizanne.  The day was so fast paced though it was hard to really enjoy the sights so next time I go it will be a little slower paced.  The atmosphere of the city is just amazing so full of energy I can't wait to go back.  Enjoy some of the pictures I took as we flew by the sights I did manage to make it in a few of them. 

Friday Already

The week has flown by and boy was it a fun one.  Hard to believe its Friday already tomorrow and I'm one week through my propagation placement.  I have had loads of fun propagating new plants like echyverias and such.  I got to prepare a bunch of cannas for overwintering.  We got to go out into the garden and collect material which was fun and interesting to find the material.  You are given the plant labels and on the labels it tells you the plant name, how many plants they want from propagation, and the bed where it can be found in the garden and the scavanger hunt begins.  This afternoon I asked if I could spend a few hours in the orchard so my last two hours of work today were spent picking apples in the orchard.  It was so much fun and the weather was perfect for it sunny and low 60's.  Tonight Leila and I went to the grocery store bought way too much but hopefully it will last me a while.  I'm having an awesome week so hopefully tomorrow will be a nice ending to an amazing week!

What a Monday

It was warmer than expected when I woke up this morning, but shortly after arriving at work that warm weather turned into a day long rain which quickly cooled things down.  However I started a new department today, propagation so was able to be out of the rain!  What a day on propagation most of the day was spent cleaning canna tubers and repotting them for winter I also did some salvia cuttings for next years supply.  The big story at work today was someone dying at Kew gardens just outside of London.  A tree dropped a branch and it landed on one of the garden visitors and killed them scary to thing that a garden could be such a dangerous place.  To be safe Wisley closed their pinetum so they could inspect the trees and make sure no branches fell on our garden visitors.  Also at work today it was announced that an older woman had lost her husband who had alzheimers they were suppose to meet up and he never showed so the garden went into hunt down mode for an old man in a tan jacket, wearing a hat, and glasses.  About a half hour later over the radio they announced he had been found and husband and wife were reunited.  The whole time he as in the plant center waiting for his wife.  Not sure who needed finding the wife or the husband but they found each other eventually with a little help.  So the day was rather eventful and fun besides the rain but I didn't have to contend with it too much.  I am looking forward to my second day on propagation tomorrow who knows what they will have in store.  Hope everything is well with you wherever you are and watch out for large trees they may have falling branches.
TTFN Dani