The Royal Kew: Duke's Garden and Treetop Walkway

               After visiting Dave's Alpine garden I went to a walled garden that formerly was the private garden for Cambridge Cottage. The Duke's Garden is one of the lesser-known corners of Kew, overlooked by many visitors to the Royal Botanic Gardens. 

 

I saw the Cambridge Cottage in a beautiful English garden, where an inhabitant was the first Duke of Cambridge after whom the garden takes its name. The Cambridge Cottage and a garden was added to the Kew Gardens in 1904. Now there is the Kew Gardens Gallery that shows exhibitions of botanical art by past and contemporary artists.

I've read that Cambridge Cottage is licensed to host civil wedding ceremonies and receptions. But at the moment when I've been there were not ceremonies. 

 

Large lawns and seasonal beds, which were looking very colorful at this time of the year. The beds framed manicured lawns. 

I liked the composition of autumn flowers as Aruncus dioicus, Сosmos sulphureus, Astilbe, Rudbeckia, Sedum, Bergenia and herbs and a variety of violet lavender species and cultivars.

I've seen the ‘exotic bed’ that was made for seeing just how hardy some tender plants are, such as tree ferns, ornamental bananas, cannas and gingers  that thrive in warm conditions.

Near the Temperate House (which was closed for renovation) an Arboretum is. It includes a 59 foot high (20 m) Treetop Walkway known as the Xstrata Walkway. I wanted to climb up there! They said that Treetop Walkway offers spectacular views of the treetops and the gardens below. 

  The Walkway itself is quite wide with very substantial rails. Look at the picture to see people on the walkway it's gives you a guide to scale.

 

From the height of the Treetop Walkway the crowns are clearly visible especially I liked the branches of chestnut trees with fruits. The most wonderful views in Arboretum are the Mediterranean Garden, the Rhododendrons (they did not bloom in autumn), and the bamboo collection.

I imagined what the birds can see from such a height. I loved to walk of the Treetop Walkway!

 

Would you like to climb up this Walkway and to see the tree crowns as the birds see them?

To be continued...