Kew Gardens visit

[Vic]

The Birmingham Botanical Gardens c&s collection/display isn't anything worth writing home about Larry, there's some good specimens in there but overall it's quite disappointing, the collection of smaller cacti etc. are quite pathetic and are hidden behind hideous chicken wire, in fact you see better specimens in gcs. The large Draceana is always smothered in mealy bug unless they're farming cochineal.

Having said that the outdoor c&s display/bed always looks superb and the rest of the gardens are very good with some very nice bedding schemes. A shame more effort isn't put into the arid house.

[Diane]

Lovely pics, Richard. I haven't been to Kew for many years, it used to be a regular place to go, as a child, as we lived fairly close, and it was only one old penny to get in! The cacti seem to have improved greatly since I last looked!

[Apicra]

By coincidence, I was at Kew on Saturday. How come you have no photos of the Henry Moore sculptures? They have a special exhibition of a couple of dozen pieces dotted around the grass (until March). With a blue sky, they looked very interesting - different from different directions. Wonderful textures - very photogenic.

Oh, and I did visit the c&s in the PoW, of course! The Welwitchia looks quite happy. I too admire that Fero glaucescens (as in photo above). The new Bromeliad display above the water-lilies is settling in now and looking good.

Always enjoyable for a visit.

Best wishes,
Derek Tribble,
North London.

[Vic]

As Derek says there are quite a few Henry Moore replica scupltures dotted around the gardens. Here's one (think it was entitled 'Reclining Figure') outside the famous Palm House:

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[Vic]

Being a cactophile though I preferred these not quite Henry Moore:

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[Vic]

You mentioned Pereskia Larry, I thought it was an interesting plant with it's barked trunk baring spiny aeroles, only usually seen as green cuttings for grafting and not usually as a large mature plant, supposedly the most primitive of cacti and maybe from where all others evolved:

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[Julie]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures, Richard... I've never been there but I hope to go someday. In the meantime I can drool over the piccies.

And well done on protecting cacties from kiddies - they probably don't realise that it's been there for 50 years and won't regrow. Hope there was no damage done.

Is that an Opuntia tree?

And those Lithops are great, and that huge cono clump... wow! Is it truncatum? I can't read the label.

As for your Lithops, I'd say the big one at 6 o'clock is the one which looks very like aucampiae but is not. (Ian - I forgot the name!) The two coppery ones about 3:30 on the clock face are aucampiae I think. The big fat one at 8 o'clock I think may be a karasmontana.

The huge one at 2 o'clock is just beautiful.. three colours! And old spotty is very nice too.

A very nice and well looked after group of Lithops who have clearly had enough light. A refreshing change from the poor tall bursty GC specimens.

Stuart - do you have blossie photos?

Vic - wow! Not a tree for small children to climb then, unless as a pennance for pulling spines off cacti.

[Vic]

A few more pics. Firstly a rather impressive specimen of Dasylirion wheeleri:

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[Vic]

Agave ocahui was mentioned a few weeks back on the forum, here's the real mccoy:

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[Vic]

Quite unusual to see a succulent with cristate growth, Pedilanthus macrocarpa:

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