The Palm House is reminiscent of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. It's filled with tropical plants. Photos by Doug Oster

The tour through the gardens of London keeps getting better. 

Historic Kew Gardens covers over 300 acres and dates back to the 1700s.

I would take days to properly explore this vast garden. Much of the Victorian era glass houses are reminiscent of Phipps.

One small glass house just off the Palm House is filled with waterlilies. The most spectacular are Victoria amazonica with its huge floating leaves. Our guide said a small child could float along on the leaves.

There's just something about the beauty of waterlilies which is captivating. I'd never seen one reach out of the water and grow this tall. One of the interesting things about these gardens is the proximity to Heathrow Airport. Every minute of so a huge plane roars by overhead. I've been told this began post WWII, I wonder what the locals thought when the quiet of these old gardens was interrupted by the planes. I was terrified as I walked up the stairs of the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway. I takes you above the treeline to get a view of another glasshouse; the Temperate House.

The Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway will take your breath away ... literally. Every few minutes another huge plane roars into Heathrow, which certainly effects the experience of enjoying the gardens. Other highlights included the Rock Garden, Princess of Wales Conservatory and Pagoda. I wish there would have been more time to see the whole garden. Tomorrow it's Windsor Castle and Wisley Gardens. I hope I can get a post up. I'm not sure if I can get connected when I'm at Wisley, but will make my best effort. If not, I'll post as soon as I return. Flying back to the states on Saturday.

The Pagoda seems to defy logic architecturally. It was completed in 1762 and was quite controversial. Today it's a landmark of the garden.

The Princess of Wales Conservatory was opened by Princess Diana but is actually named for Princess Augusta, founder of Kew. The conservatory shows plants in 10 different climate zones. This is a carnivorous plant in one of the rooms.The Rock Garden here is huge. I watched as no less than four gardeners meticulously preened and pruned the tiny plants.

 This formal bed at Hampton Court in London is framed with an ancient wisteria vine. Mass plantings of different plants are beautiful when done right. Look at the color palette used here. Photos by Doug Oster

The palace at Hampton Court is probably best known as the home of King Henry the VIII and his many wives.

It's expansive and the gardens are spectacular.

There were so many inspirational ideas from the plantings, I don't know where to start.

Check out the photos below to see interesting combinations and uses for the garden.

The most striking bed might have been these lily flowering tulips blooming with forget me nots. This gardener took a chance that both would be in bloom at the same time. It was amazing in person.

Ever see a 200 yard long arbor of golden rain tree? These two women our on the tour too and were trying to get out of the way of the Doug the photographer. We both had a laugh about it as they walked by.

'Queen of the Night' tulips blooming with woodland phlox. This tulip is a favorite in England. I've seen it everywhere from Westminster Abbey to the Chelsea Flower Show.

What palace would be complete without a long bed of perennials, all in bloom together.

Yesterday my group headed for the Chelsea Flower Show, but before we went in, the Yinzers posed for a shot with their Terrible Towel!

It's the Steeler's Nation across the pond.

I was spellbound by Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing.' Check out the picture below, I hope I can find seeds for this plant.

Today we're visiting the gardens of Hampton Court.

The airy white flowers of Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' against it's purple stems made my heart flutter.

The B&Q Sentebale Forget-Me-Not Garden was designed by Prince Harry and others. The garden is a tribute to his mother Princess Diana and is intended to educate visitors the 'Forgotten Kingdom' of Lesotho in southern Africa. Photos by Doug Oster

I'd always dreamed of seeing the Chelsea Flower Show. It's the Super Bowl of garden shows. I had no idea what to expect and was blown away by the scope and size of the centennial show.

There are 15 show gardens which take three hectic weeks to construct. Acres of vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine to make a gardener happy.

There were many amazing sculptures on display at the show.

Tiny artisan gardens dot the edge of the perimeter of the show. There are more gardens around the Great Pavilion and even though my group was there on members day, the crowds were crushing. Often times they would be five deep standing in front of a garden. They are polite though. After a couple minutes a person would leave the front, providing room for another until you would finally be standing in front of a beautifully designed garden.

I fell in love with Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' or cowparsley. It's airy white flowers are set off by purple stems. It was used in most of the gardens in the show. I hope I can find seeds.

Even though all the outdoor gardens were spectacular, the exhibits in the Great Pavilion took my breath away.

Imagine any plant you ever thought about growing displayed in its prime. Each vendor has a specialty, whether it's bulbs or lavender with an exhibit massed with their plant of choice.

Gardeners can take a look and buy the seeds, plants, bulbs or tubers on the spot.

It's probably the most incredible thing I've every seen.

I'll be posting more about my experiences there in the next few days. One thing I'll never forget was a display of six foot tall delphiniums towering over the biggest begonia blooms I'd ever witnessed.

This mass of giant delphiniums towering of huge begonia blooms was one of the first things I saw after entering the Great Pavilion.

The East Village Garden was one of the spectacular Show Gardens.

Don't let anyone tell you the English don't have a sense of humor.