Kew Gardens

My friend Daniella and I escaped the city life for an afternoon and went to Kew Gardens, the Royal Botanical Gardens in west London.You do have to stay on the District Line for quite a while to get there, and there is an entry fee, but it was worth it. We brought a picnic with us, but we stopped and looked through the "Palm House" a huge green house devoted to plants from near the equator. On the lower level of the Palm House there was also a small aquarium where we saw seahorses and jelly fish as well as other different fish species. 

We then went on to have our picnic on the grass beneath a tree. It was great because it was a sunny day, and the park had a lot of people walking around but no one really disturbed each other because we were all trying to take in the nature and the experience. We stopped in an area of the park to then take photos of us in a huge bush of hydrangeas. And then went on to a wooden structure they built to see the view from the trees, which was pretty nice, I enjoyed seeing how far the park could stretch on, and we did get a little bit of sun. 

Of course when glancing through the flyers they gave us at the entrance we saw that there was an ice-cream shop which sold orchid flavoured ice-cream. So that's where we headed next. We walked through the Queen's Garden and back around to the Café with the ice-cream. But they didn't have orchid ice-cream that day so we ended up choosing apricot, honey and yogurt flavour, which was incredible. 

We then went to look at the green house filled with cacti and succulents which is names the Princess of Wales green house. And then we went on to the Rock Garden. After that we walked through some shops and sat down in front of a chapel like house, to relax before going home.

Going to Kew Gardens was a perfect afternoon, and I'd probably go again, because we were unable to see the whole park in one day. Here's their website: http://www.kew.org/

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden

Across from Dalston Junction station there is a really cute garden. This garden is called "Dalston Eastern Curve Garden". It was created in 2010 where there was an old train station. There are beautiful daffodils and tulips around the seating area in the shade at the start of the garden. Further into the garden there are fatboy bean bags layed out for you to enjoy the sun.

There are children playing, people chatting, and even people alone trying to do work in the relaxing environment. One thing I really liked is that pretty much anyone can go there to enjoy the garden even if its not a public garden. There's also a little cafe set up at the entrance so that if you wish to have something to drink or eat you can. I got fresh green tea, and I personally got to see the woman preparing it for me taking the mint leaves off the plants that they grow in the garden.

The garden also has adult and children workshops set up throughout the year so that they can raise money and do more. Their current project is to build a pineapple house. A sort of green house to grown exotic fruits and normal vegetables so that they can provide for themselves all year round. I'm thinking of volunteering at the garden next year, because its always good to help and I really like what they've been able to do, and I'd love to get involved and help them grow. Here's the garden's website: http://dalstongarden.org/