Yesterday I went to my favourite place in London - Kew Gardens. It’s a wonderland of plants, trees and other wonderful species from all over the world. It also does vital conservation research. 

Favourite spots are the Madagascan palm tree - that was about to outgrow the palm house but instead started producing a beautiful chandelier-like flower last year, which also signals it is at the end of it’s life before dying. The incredible orchid displays are also a favourite and last year I remember, in particular, the Madagascar Star Orchid, which Darwin took great interest in, proposing that a pollinator must exist somewhere which would have a very long-tongue to pollinate it. This moth did indeed exist, although it wasn’t discovered for another 40 years! Finally the trees are just stunning and if you can’t make it to Kew, you can get a tiny flavour of what’s there on Google Street View. 

I was reminded yesterday of the critically endangered Wollemi Pine that sits in a cage under lock-and-key. It was odd to see a tree surrounded by a cage and after visiting the People and Plants exhibition, I was really struck again at our complete dependence on nature, and how even our everyday choices of what we buy influence the natural world. If you’ve never been to Kew, do try to go. My top tip is to make use of the daily free tours. They show you lots of stuff you would otherwise miss.