Garden of Evening

In the past few years, K. and I have developed a love for plants and gardening. But you all know that K. and I can't do something normally, like have a few pots of herbs on our apartment patio. Oh no, that would be far too easy. In the past two years, my husband has transformed some fallow flower beds into a thriving city garden that boasts of artichokes, peppers, rhubarb, a dozen tomato plants, beans, 2 types of strawberries, and most recently, a medieval herb garden. (Oh, stop laughing...you all love our silly ways!!)

It was with great pleasure that I took K. to the Chelsea Physic Garden this afternoon. It's in the middle of Chelsea, one of the more posh areas of London. It's been open since the 17th century, when it was a training ground for apothecaries. Within its walls lies a richness of herbs (medicinal and edible), vegetables, fruit trees, succulents, cacti, pond plants, carnivorous plants, plants representative of every continent, and many more herbaceous wonders.

It's open late on Wednesday evenings, so K. and I took the tube, ignored the rain, and stepped into its well-marked rows of plants with glee. We spent an hour and a half wandering around in the spitting rain gawking at plants that we had in our garden and some of which we were totally unfamiliar. It was so fun! Pictures of our adventure are housed in the usual spot (swing your eyeballs to the right, please). Pictures include the prettiest chard on the planet, artichokes, pitcher plants, monkey puzzle, and many more plants. Why, they even showed the wonders of California's plant life!

K. and I are off to Paris tomorrow, so I won't be posting until Monday, when I'm sure I'll have lots to report!