Exploring the UK - Visiting Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London

When I was in London it was a hot day so I decided to take a trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and hoped to see some of the greenery and plants in this location. Although I've been to London hundreds of times over the years I've never actually took time out to visit these gardens situated near Richmond upon Thames. It's approximately 326-acres and has 40 historically important buildings and collections of over 40,000 species of plants on the site, so as you can tell it's almost impossible to walk through in one day but would feel fairly rushed. If you're lucky enough it's probably better to head here multiple times and enjoy it at a slower pace.

I'm personally drawn to these kind of gardens when I go to a new city because not only is it peaceful you also get time to look at the patterns and colours of the plants in more detail. Having a camera with you helps to document these and notice the little intricacies that might have gone unnoticed, I can also reference them for a later date and use the pictures to inform my art and design choices. Natural colours are always the best, and I especially like the colours here in the photos as they really pop out. The reds and the greens really work in an aesthetically pleasing way that is striking but still compliments.

Here are some of the shots that I took as I walked around Kew Gardens. I headed to the Japanese and Chinese themed elements, both were inspiring and can be seen here. The other photos are sculptures and plant details that I thought were appealing. I hope you enjoy them.