Dale Chihuly is an American sculptor known for his large scale glass installations. His work can be seen in museums around the world and his current exhibition, entitled Reflections on Nature, can be found in the grounds of Kew Gardens until the 27th of October. There are twelve locations around the gardens where his work can be seen and a map provided along with entrance to the gardens gives you a route to follow to ensure that you don’t miss anything.
The sculptures are a perfect complement to the formal structure of the gardens, adding colour, contrast and a sense of scale. The first sculpture on the trail, just to the left of the entrance gate, is Sapphire Star, it gives a real idea of what is to come. The intensity of colour in the blown glass is amazing.
Sapphire Star 
The second location features smaller pieces inside the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. Once again it is the colour that strikes you immediately and the lighting in the gallery has been set to ensure they show at their best.
The Lime Crystal Tower is almost camouflaged against the surrounding vegetation.
The beauty of the placements of many the sculptures is that you don’t really see then until you are almost on them so well have they been blended in to the landscape.
The Temperate House at Kew is one of the most iconic and popular places to visit. Opened in 1862 it is Grade 1 listed and has recently undergone a major renovation. Chihuly has placed several pieces in here including Persian Column which is suspended from the roof and was specially created for this exhibition.
Persian Column 
Just outside the Temperate House on either side of the central entrance are two Opal and Amber Towers.
Cherry Walk leads from the Temperate House to King William’s Temple. Here Chihuly has placed Cattails and Copper Birch Reeds. The grass has been allowed to flower here with no mowing giving height from which the blown glass emerges. it is a wonderful explosion of colour against the flower heads.
The area below King William’s Temple is perhaps one of my favourite sections of the exhibition. The setting is perfect and the choice of colour stunning.
While some of the pieces emerge from the surrounding vegetation others are statement, stand alone pieces that are almost in complete contrast to their surroundings. This is perhaps best illustrated by the Scarlet and Yellow Icicle Tower.
From the tower a short walk through the Rose Garden brings you to the Water Lily House. Red Reeds can be found outside, growing straight and tall and in such a vibrant red colour.
Inside the Water Lily House is another of the absolutely stunning installations entitled Ethereal White Persian Pond. Numbers entering are controlled so that it doesn’t get over crowded, giving you space to move around and enjoy the work from a variety of different viewpoints. I took so many photographs here I could probably do a post on this area alone.
Paintbrushes are a fantastic impact piece with sharp contrast between the red and green.
Finally Summer Sun can be found in front of the Palm House on the edge of the lake. Reminiscent of a setting sun it is a perfect end to what is a wonderful trail through these beautiful gardens.
Kew Gardens open at 10am every day however closing times do vary a little so it is worth checking if you prefer entry later in the day. I arrived shortly after 10 and the queue to get in was very short and the gardens themselves very quiet. By the time I left three hours later it was considerably busier and the queue stretched out and along the main road. That said it was a Saturday and the weather very pleasantly warm. If you visit mid week outside school holidays you may well find it quieter.
Kew Gardens are perhaps best reached from central London by taking the Richmond branch of the District Line. It is only a short 5 minute walk from Kew Gardens station down Lichfield Road to the Victoria Gate entrance.