Snapshots of a garden holiday in London...and about.

Pete and Heather - happy to be at Kew Gardens

Here's to traveling with green intent - Vacation 2012:  And why not head out to London to take in not one, not two but oh-so-many lovely gardens and the 99th Chelsea Flower Show - pshaw!

England is bursting with green pursuits - every where you look.  First up, find an apartment - or flat - that has a garden and pond of its own so that you can enjoy a feeling of community every day.  That's what we did in Fulham - close to the tube, shops, restaurants and the adventure of exploration!

Plan to plan and plan to walk, walk, walk then tube, then bus then train!  I felt like just by being in this emerald isle, I'd absorb all the history and garden abilities of those who left their mark before.  Well, why go on vacation if not to dream?

Beauties welcoming us to their place at Kew!

And where better to start than Kew Gardens - in May when swans are preening against the lawn, their goslings close behind.  When art is placed just so in the landscape - to intrigue and inflame the imagination. Just being in the Victorian structures - walking in jungle and desert environments, how sublime.  

 Then stop in at royal houses - plan for time though as one or two hours will just not do it.  Hampton Court Palace takes you back in time - I swear I could hear voices echoing from times gone by as we walked the kitchen garden and admired the grand Rhododendrums. A quick reflection here:  my Helsinki Rhodos in the Lanark Valley, Ontario, struggle to gain a foothold and grow a few inches.  Hampton blooms festooned the walkway and bent under their own floral plumage.  And it was easy to claim a place in a photo when all was so beautiful - how could you not feel magic yourself for a while?

Anticipate the unexpected discovery.  Case in point:  an intrepid friend and I headed out deliberately on the train to visit Sissinghurst - former home to Vita Sackville-West doyenne of the white garden, etc.  The excitement was high but our research was oh-so-faulty.  Upon arriving at the station we were welcomed by the taxi driver but told that Sissinghurst was closed that day.  Ummmm.  But, he suggested we go to Great Dixter.  Oh my.  A day of magic and immersion into the former home and garden of  Christopher Lloyd.  Our attention was pulled by the agricultural landscape and the sheer beauty of the small and large elements of this place.  Couldn't put my finger on how the magic worked, but it did. Go.

 And then - by mid-week, in the incredible heat of the May London day (+30) we went to the grand dame show of them all, the Chelsea Flower Show.  So much to tantalize, so many blooms, such exactitude in planning and design.  And of course, lining up for a Pimm's cup to take the edge of the day.  Over 50,000 that afternoon dreamed a green dream, walked the displays and planned for how their own piece of the planet could dare such beauty.  Perfect.   Travel!