EPS Kew get together

Posted: 19 Apr 2008

Our main news is the annual Kew meet that took place on the 12th April and was a great event.

We must have had around 25 come along for our informal walk about, plant chat and spare plant exchange!!

Special treats this year were informal 'tours' of the Temperate House, Palm House and Palm Nursery given by their respective curators, David Cooke, Wesley Shaw and Steve Ketley. The Kew guys gave up their time and even provided some tea and coffee affording more chance for us all to natter about palms and plants! Thank you for making the day so special.

As ever right on cue... (or for an awful pun I should say Kew!) we had the usual rain shower that always knows when we are stopping to sit and have something to eat. How it knows just when to rain each year is amazing but it never dampens the spirits!

A real mixed bag of weather with warm sunshine, cool winds and heavy showers, the biggest of which we just missed as we were heading into the palm and cycad nursery which is closed to public access. Was really fortunate to be able to see the work Steve is doing on raising palms for Kew and especially lucky to see the first seedlings of the new palm Tahina spectabilis, interesting because the first seed leaf is not the usual grass like palm seedling leaf but like a small hand!

Good to see the palms in the Temperate House and in the Palm House our visit coincided with the flowering of the fantastic Jade Vine (Strongylodon) it's first flowering there in 3 years...stunning!!!

Thanks to all who came for making it a super day and special thanks to the Kew guys for giving up so much of their time which made it so special!!

Most of the Kew party!!

Tahina spectabilis seedlings

EPS Kew get together

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