Chelsea Physic Garden

First off, I finally got around to posting Part Two about Wisley - I encourage you take a look:  
http://gardengrumblesandcrossstitchfumbles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/wonderful-wisley-part-two.html

Just down the road from the Chelsea Royal Hospital, is the hidden gem that is the four acre Chelsea Physic Garden.  We started off by taking a very informative 90 minute tour of the garden.

The Physic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in London and was founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries for the purpose of training apprentices in identifying plants.  Sir Hans Sloan leased the property to them for £5 per year in perpetuity. 

Early on, the garden became a repository for the newest plants brought back by British plant hunters.  It has over 5,000 different plants and 100 different types of trees.

There is a small water garden with water lilies, tadpoles, water skippers, and dragonflies.

A small greenhouse has a collection of palms...

and ferns and sedges.  I was amused to see a nice stand of Scouring Rush Horsetails (2nd from the left bottom row) as they grow wild on our property back in Oregon.  The garden staff is also very proud of their podophyllum (2nd from the right bottom row) of which I was recently gifted with several plants myself!   

There are Herb & Medicinal plant collections which are divided into the Pharmaceutical Garden, the Garden of World Medicine, and the Garden of Edible and Useful Plants.

Whew!  I think it's time for lunch.  I can recommend the Aberdeen Angus beef with roasted Jersey potatoes.

Okay back to it.  There is a very nice vegetable garden which this year is highlighting Super Foods. 

This greenhouse had succulents, cacti, and other tropicals.

The garden has its own beehive (2nd from left on top row) and as a result is buzzing with happy pollinators.

Gardens inherently are awash in green.

This photo showcases some of the many beds which are set out by Plant Family.

These are some of the many shining stars.

I think the Plant Family beds were my favorite part of the garden.

You'd think that might be a boring and set way to display plants, but it certainly was not so.

Over eighteen different kinds of birds have been observed at the Chelsea Physic Garden.  My list today included: A Garden Cat (just observing - not hunting), a Magpie, a Robin, a Parakeet, a juvenile Great Tit, a juvenile Greenfinch, a Blackbird, and an adult Great Tit.

A wonderful garden - a wonderful afternoon.