Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Encyclopedia
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of garden
s and botanical glasshouse
s between Richmond and Kew
in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs both the gardens at Kew and Wakehurst Place gardens in Sussex
. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a non-departmental public body
sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
, is an internationally important botanical
research and education institution with 700 staff and an income of for the year ended 2008, as well as a visitor attraction receiving almost visits in that year. Created in 1759, the gardens celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2009.
The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is responsible for the world's largest collection of living plants. The organisation employs more than 650 scientists and other staff. The living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. The Kew site includes four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures in an internationally significant landscape.
. It was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales
, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales
, for whom Sir William Chambers
built several garden structures. One of these, the lofty Chinese
pagoda
built in 1761 still remains. George III
enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton
and Sir Joseph Banks
. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace
.
Some of the early plants came from the walled garden established by William Coys at Stubbers in North Ockendon
. The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until the appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson
, in 1771. In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden
. Under Kew's director, William Hooker
, the gardens were increased to 30 hectare
s (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum
, extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 120 hectares (300 acres). The first curator was John Smith
.
The Palm House
was built by architect Decimus Burton
and iron-maker Richard Turner
between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron
. The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate house, which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian
glasshouse in existence.
Kew was the location of the successful effort in the 19th century to propagate rubber
trees for cultivation outside South America.
In February 1913 the Tea House was burnt down by suffragette
s Olive Wharry
and Lilian Lenton
during a series of arson attacks in London.
In October 1987 Kew Gardens lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987
.
In July 2003, the gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
The current director is Professor Stephen D. Hopper
, who succeeded Professor Sir Peter Crane
. In November 2010, it was announced that Dr Tim Entwisle, Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
, was to become Director of Conservation, Living Collections & Estates.
The Kew herbarium
is one of the largest in the world with approximately specimens used primarily for taxonomic study. The herbarium is rich in types for all regions of the world, especially the tropics.
Despite unfavourable growing conditions (atmospheric pollution
from London, dry soil
s and low rainfall) Kew remains one of the most comprehensive plant collections in Britain. In an attempt to expand the collections away from these unfavourable conditions, Kew has established two out-stations, at Wakehurst Place
in Sussex
, a National Trust
property, and (jointly with the Forestry Commission
) Bedgebury Pinetum
in Kent
, the latter specialising in growing conifers
.
The Harvard University Herbaria
and the Australian National Herbarium co-operate with Kew in the IPNI
database to produce an authoritative source of information on botanical nomenclature
.
Seedbank
Kew is important as a seedbank
. It co-sponsors the Millennium Seed Bank Project
inside the Wellcome Trust
Millennium Building at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
Library and archives
The library and archives at Kew are one of the world's largest botanical collections, with over half a million items, including books, botanical illustrations, photographs, letters and manuscripts, periodicals, and maps. The Jodrell Library was recently merged with the Economic Botany and Mycology Libraries and all are now housed in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Forensic horticulture
Kew provides advice and guidance to police forces around the world where plant material may provide important clues or evidence in cases. In one famous case the forensic science department at Kew were able to acertain that the contents of the stomach of a headless corpse found in the river Thames contained a highly toxic African bean.
Economic Botany
The Sustainable Uses of Plants group (formerly the Centre for Economic Botany
), focus on the uses of plants in the United Kingdom and the world's arid and semi-arid zones. The Centre is also responsible for curation of the Economic Botany Collection, which contains more than 90,000 botanical raw materials and ethnographic artefacts, some of which are on display in the Plants + People exhibit in Museum No. 1. The Centre is now located in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Jodrell Laboratory
The original Jodrell laboratory, named after Mr T.J. Phillips Jodrell who funded it was established in 1877 and consisted of four research rooms and an office. Originally research was conducted into plant physiology but this was gradually superseded by botanical research. In 1934 an artists studio was added together with a photographic darkroom highlighting the importance of botanical illustration. In 1965, following increasing overcrowding a new building was constructed and research expanded into seed collection for plant conservation. The biochemistry section also expanded to facilitate research into secondary compounds that could be derived from plants for medicinal purposes. In 1994 the centre was expanded again, tripling in size and a decade later it was further expanded by the addition of the Wolfson Wing.
In March 2006, the Davies Alpine House opened, the third version of an alpine house since 1887. Although only 16 metres long the apex of the roof arch extends to a height of 10 metres in order to allow the natural airflow of a building of this shape to aid in the all important ventilation required for the type of plants to be housed.
The new house features a set of automatically operated blinds that prevent it overheating when the sun is too hot for the plants together with a system that blows a continuous stream of cool air over the plants. The main design aim of the house is to allow maximum light transmission. To this end the glass is of a special low iron type that allows 90% of the ultraviolet light in sunlight to pass. It is attached by high tension steel cables so that no light is obstructed by traditional glazing bars.
To conserve energy the cooling air is not refrigerated but is cooled by being passed through a labyrinth of pipes buried under the house at a depth where the temperature remains suitable all year round. A design goal of the house is that the maximum temperature will not exceed 20 degrees Celsius.
Kew's collection of Alpine plants (defined as those that grow above the tree-line in their locale - ground level at the poles rising to over 2000 metres in the Alps), extends to over 7000 and as the Alpine house can only house around 200 at a time the ones on show are regularly rotated.
Built for the Japan-British Exhibition (1910)
and moved to Kew in 1911, the Chokushi-Mon (敕使門 ‘Imperial Envoy's Gateway’) is a four-fifths scale replica of the karamon
(gateway) of the Nishi Hongan-ji
temple in Kyoto
. It lies about west of the Pagoda and is surrounded by a reconstruction of a traditional Japanese garden.
. The compost is mainly used in the gardens, but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fund-raising event for the gardens.
The compost heap is in an area of the gardens not accessible to the general public, but a viewing platform has been erected to allow visitors to observe the heap as it goes through its cycle.
Kew Palace is the smallest of the British royal palaces. It was built by Samuel Fortrey, a Dutch merchant in around 1631. It was later purchased by George III. The construction method is known as Flemish bond and involves laying the bricks with long and short sides alternating. This and the gabled front tend to give the construction a definite Dutch appearance.
To the rear of the building is the "Queen's Garden" which includes a collection of plants believed to have medicinal qualities. Only plants that were extant in England by the 17th century are grown in the garden.
The building underwent significant restoration before being reopened to the public in 2006.
It is administered separately from the gardens and is the only permanently open attraction within the grounds that requires an additional fee to view.
Following the Japan 2001 festival, Kew acquired a Japanese wooden house called a minka
. It was originally erected in around 1900 in a suburb of Okazaki
. Japanese craftsmen reassembled the framework and British builders who had worked on the Globe Theatre
added the mud wall panels.
Work on the house started on 7 May 2001 and when the framework was completed on , a Japanese ceremony was held to mark what was considered an auspicious occasion. Work on the building of the house was completed in November 2001 but the internal artifacts were not all in place until 2006.
The Minka house is located within the bamboo collection in the West central part of the gardens.
The Marianne North Gallery was built in the 1880s to house the paintings of Marianne North
, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia, at a time when women rarely did so, to paint plants. The gallery has 832 of her paintings. The paintings were left to Kew by the artist and a condition of the bequest is that the layout of the paintings in the gallery may not be altered.
The gallery had suffered considerable structural degradation since its creation and during a period from 2008 to 2009 major restoration and refurbishment took place. During the time the gallery was closed the opportunity was also taken to restore the paintings to their original condition. The gallery reopened in October 2009.
The gallery originally opened in 1882 and is the only permanent exhibition dedicated solely to the work of one woman in Great Britain.
Near the Palm House is a building known as "Museum No. 1" (even though it is the only museum on the site), which was designed by Decimus Burton
and opened in 1857. Housing Kew's economic botany collections including tools, ornaments, clothing, food and medicines, its aim was to illustrate human dependence on plants. The building was refurbished in 1998. The upper two floors are now an education centre and the ground floor houses the "Plants+People" exhibition which highlights the variety of plants and the ways that people use them.
Admission to the galleries and museum is free after paying admission to the Gardens.
Originally designed for Buckingham Palace
, this was moved to Kew in 1836 by King William IV. With an abundance of natural light the building is used to house displays of photographs and small, educational exhibitions.
In the South East corner of Kew Gardens stands the Great Pagoda
(by Sir William Chambers), erected in 1762, from a design in imitation of the Chinese Ta
. The lowest of the ten octagonal storeys is 49 feet in diameter. From the base to the highest point is 163 feet (.
Each storey finishes with a projecting roof, after the Chinese manner, originally covered with ceramic tiles and adorned with large dragons; a story is still propagated that they were made of gold and were reputedly sold by George IV to settle his debts. The truth is that the dragons were made of wood painted gold, and simply rotted away with the ravages of time. The walls of the building are composed of brick. The staircase, 253 steps, is in the centre of the building. The Pagoda was closed to the public for many years, but was reopened for the summer months of 2006. There are still, supposedly, plans for it to open to the public once again.
During the Second World War
holes were cut in each floor to allow for drop-testing of model bombs.
The Palm House (1844–1848) was the result of cooperation between architect Decimus Burton
and iron-founder Richard Turner
, and continues upon the glass house design principles developed by John Claudius Loudon
and Joseph Paxton
. A space frame of wrought iron arches, held together by horizontal tubular structures containing long prestressed cables, supports glass panes which were originally tinted green with copper oxide to reduce the significant heating effect. The 19m high central nave is surrounded by a walkway at 9m height, allowing visitors a closer look upon the palm tree crowns.
Kew's third major conservatory, the Princess of Wales
Conservatory, designed by architect Gordon Wilson, was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales
in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta
's associations with Kew. In 1989 the conservatory received the Europa Nostra award for conservation. The conservatory houses ten computer-controlled micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the greenhouse volume composed of Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants. Significant numbers of orchids, water lilies, cacti, lithops, carnivorous plants and bromeliads are housed in the various zones. The cactus collection also extends outside the conservatory where some hardier species can be found.
With an area of 4499 square meters the conservatory is designed to minimise the amount of energy taken to run it and to this end the cooler zones are grouped around the outside with the more tropical zones in the central area where heat is conserved. The glass roof extends down to the ground which give the conservatory a distinctive appearance and helps to maximise the use of the sun's energy.
During the construction of the conservatory a time capsule was buried containing the seeds of basic crops and endangered plant species and key publications on conservation.
Within the conservation area is a cottage that was given to Queen Charlotte
as a wedding present on her marriage to George III
. It has been restored by Historic Royal Palaces and is separately administered by them.
It is open to the public on the May Day and August bank holidays and at weekends during July and August.
opened at the same time as the "treetop walkway" giving visitors the opportunity to investigate what happens beneath the ground where trees grow. The rhizotron is essentially a single gallery containing a set of large bronze abstract castings which contain LCD screens that carry repeating loops of information about the life of trees.
The Sackler Crossing bridge made of granite and bronze opened in May 2006. Designed by Buro Happold
and John Pawson
, it crosses the lake and is named in honour of philanthropists Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler
.
The minimalist styled bridge is designed as a sweeping double curve of black granite and the sides are formed of bronze posts that give the impression, from certain angles, of forming a solid wall whereas from others, and to those on the bridge, they are clearly individual entities that allow a view of the water beyond.
It forms part of a path designed to encourage visitors to visit more of the gardens than had hitherto been popular and connect the two art galleries, via the temperate and evolution houses and the woodland glade, to the Minka House and bamboo garden.
The crossing won a special award from the Royal Institute of British Architects
in 2008.
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art opened in April 2008, and holds paintings from Kew's and Dr Shirley Sherwood's
collections, many of which had never been displayed to the public before. It features paintings by artists such as Georg D. Ehret
, the Bauer brothers
, Pierre-Joseph Redouté
and Walter Hood Fitch
. The paintings and drawings are cycled on a six monthly basis. The gallery is linked to the Marianne North Gallery (see above).
This greenhouse has twice the floor area of the Palm House and is the world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. It contains plants and trees from all the temperate regions of the world. It was commissioned in 1859 and designed by architect Decimus Burton
and ironfounder Richard Turner
. Covering 4880 square metres, it rises to a height of 19 metres. Intended to accommodate Kew's expanding collection of hardy and temperate plants, it took forty years to construct, during which time costs soared.
There is a viewing gallery in the central section from which visitors may look down on that part of the collection.
A new treetop walkway opened on 2008. This walkway is 18 metres (59.1 ft) high and 200 metres (656.2 ft) long and takes visitors into the tree canopy of a woodland glade. Visitors can ascend and descend by stairs. The floor of the walkway is made from perforated metal and flexes as it is walked upon. The entire structure sways in the wind.
The image to the left shows a section of the walkway and the steel supports that were designed to rust to a tree-like appearance to help the walkway fit in with its surroundings.
There is a short film detailing the construction of the walkway available online.
s that are fueled by Calor Gas to minimise pollution. A commentary is provided by the driver and there are several stops.
A map of the gardens is available at Map of Kew Gardens
The Waterlily House is the hottest and most humid of the houses at Kew and contains a large pond with varieties of waterlily, surrounded by a display of economically important heat-loving plants. It closes during the winter months.
Situated near the Jodrell laboratory, the Aquatic Garden, which celebrated its centenary in 2009, provides conditions for aquatic and marginal plants. The large central pool holds a selection of summer-flowering waterlilies whilst the corner pools contain plants such as reed mace, bulrushes, phragmites and smaller floating aquatic species.
The Arboretum
The arboretum at Kew covers over half of the total area of the site and contains over 14,000 trees of many thousands of varieties.
The Cacti collection
This is housed in and around the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
The Carnivorous Plant collection
This is housed in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
The Grass Garden
Created on its current site in the early 1980s to display ornamental and economic grasses the Grass Garden was redesigned and replanted between 1994 and 1997. It is currently undergoing a further redesign and planting. Over 580 species of grasses are displayed.
The Herbaceous Grounds (Order Beds)
The Order Beds were devised in the late 1860s by Sir Joseph Hooker, then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, so that botany students could learn to recognise plants and experience at first hand the diversity of the plant kingdom. The collection is organised into family groups. Its name arose because plant families were known as natural orders in the 19th century. Over the main path is a rose pergola built in 1959 to mark the bicentennial of the Gardens. It supports climber and rambling roses selected for the length and profusion of flowering.
The Orchid collection
The orchid collection is housed in two climate zones within the Princess of Wales Conservatory. To maintain an interesting display the plants are changed regularly so that those on view are generally flowering.
The Rock Garden
Originally built of limestone in 1882, it is now constructed of Sussex sandstone from West Hoathly, Sussex. The rock garden is divided into six geographic regions: Europe, Mediterranean and Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, North America, and South America.There are currently 2,480 different 'accessions' growing in the garden.
The Rose Garden
The Rose Garden, based upon original designs by William Nesfield, is behind the Palm House, and was replanted between 2009 and 2010 using the original design from 1848. It is intended as an ornamental display rather than a collection of a particularly large number of varieties.
Other collections
Other collections and specialist areas include the bonsai
collection, the rhododendron
dell, the azalea
garden, the bamboo
garden, the juniper
collection, the berberis
dell, the lilac
garden, the magnolia
collection, and the fern
collection.
is an Internet encyclopedia project
to compile a comprehensive list of botanical nomenclature
, created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden
. The Plant List has 1,040,426 scientific plant names of species rank of which 298,900 are accepted species names. In addition, the list has 620 plant families and 16,167 plant genera.
, was saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at Kew, in 2009.
The nearest combined rail and London Underground station is Kew Gardens (District Line
and London Overground
) to the east of the gardens. To the north, Kew Bridge railway station
is about 10–15 minutes from the main entrance, with trains to Clapham Junction and Waterloo. The two bus routes suitable for the gardens are 65
and 391
.
Cycle and Car
There are cycle racks located just inside the Victoria Gate, Main Gate and Brentford Gate entrances to the park. For those arriving by car there is a 300-space car park outside Brentford Gate.
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s and botanical glasshouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s between Richmond and Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs both the gardens at Kew and Wakehurst Place gardens in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
, is an internationally important botanical
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
research and education institution with 700 staff and an income of for the year ended 2008, as well as a visitor attraction receiving almost visits in that year. Created in 1759, the gardens celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2009.
The Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is responsible for the world's largest collection of living plants. The organisation employs more than 650 scientists and other staff. The living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. The Kew site includes four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures in an internationally significant landscape.
History
Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at Kew Park formed by Lord Capel John of TewkesburyTewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
. It was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three Princesses of Wales who never became queen consort...
, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
, for whom Sir William Chambers
William Chambers (architect)
Sir William Chambers was a Scottish architect, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where his father was a merchant. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making several voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration.Returning to Europe, he studied...
built several garden structures. One of these, the lofty Chinese
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...
pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
built in 1761 still remains. George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton
William Aiton
William Aiton was a Scottish botanist.Aiton was born near Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Philip Miller, then superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden...
and Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace
Kew Palace
Kew Palace is a British Royal Palace in Kew Gardens on the banks of the Thames up river from London. There have been at least four Palaces at Kew, and three have been known as Kew Palace; the first building may not have been known as Kew as no records survive other than the words of another...
.
Some of the early plants came from the walled garden established by William Coys at Stubbers in North Ockendon
Stubbers
-History:The earliest reference to the estate subsequently known as Stubbers was in 1334. The name comes from William Stubber who owned the house in the 15th century. In the early 17th century it was the home of William Coys, a well known botanist, who established a walled garden that subsequently...
. The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until the appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson
Francis Masson
Francis Masson was a Scottish botanist and gardener, and Kew Gardens’ first plant hunter.Masson was born in Aberdeen. In the 1760s he went to work at Kew Gardens as an under-gardener. Masson was the first plant collector to be sent from Kew by the newly-appointed director Sir Joseph Banks...
, in 1771. In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
. Under Kew's director, William Hooker
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS was an English systematic botanist and organiser. He held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, and was the first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He enjoyed the friendship and support of Sir Joseph Banks for his exploring,...
, the gardens were increased to 30 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 120 hectares (300 acres). The first curator was John Smith
John Smith (botanist)
John Smith was an English botanist who was the first curator at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , starting in 1841. He had first been employed at the gardens as a stove boy in 1822...
.
The Palm House
Palm House
A palm house is a greenhouse that is specialised for the growing of palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. Palm houses require constant heat and were built as status symbols in Victorian Britain...
was built by architect Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
and iron-maker Richard Turner
Richard Turner (iron-founder)
Richard Turner was an Irish iron-founder and manufacturer of glasshouses, born in Dublin.His works included the Palm House at Kew Gardens , the glasshouse in the Winter Gardens at Regent's Park in London, the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Curvilinear Range at the Irish National...
between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
. The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate house, which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
glasshouse in existence.
Kew was the location of the successful effort in the 19th century to propagate rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
trees for cultivation outside South America.
In February 1913 the Tea House was burnt down by suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
s Olive Wharry
Olive Wharry
Olive Wharry was an English artist, arsonist and suffragist who in 1913 was imprisoned with Lilian Lenton for burning down the tea pavilion at Kew Gardens.-Early life:...
and Lilian Lenton
Lilian Lenton
Lilian Ida Lenton was an English dancer, suffragist, arsonist, and winner of a French Red Cross medal for her service as an Orderly in World War I.-Early years:...
during a series of arson attacks in London.
In October 1987 Kew Gardens lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
.
In July 2003, the gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
The current director is Professor Stephen D. Hopper
Stephen Hopper
Stephen Donald Hopper is a Western Australian botanist, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. He has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his name. He was Director of Kings Park in Perth for seven years, and CEO of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority for five...
, who succeeded Professor Sir Peter Crane
Peter Crane
Sir Peter Crane, FRS is a former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London. He is a fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences since 2002. He was awarded a knighthood on...
. In November 2010, it was announced that Dr Tim Entwisle, Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, are the most central of the three major botanical gardens open to the public in Sydney....
, was to become Director of Conservation, Living Collections & Estates.
Professional activities
HerbariumThe Kew herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
is one of the largest in the world with approximately specimens used primarily for taxonomic study. The herbarium is rich in types for all regions of the world, especially the tropics.
Despite unfavourable growing conditions (atmospheric pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
from London, dry soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s and low rainfall) Kew remains one of the most comprehensive plant collections in Britain. In an attempt to expand the collections away from these unfavourable conditions, Kew has established two out-stations, at Wakehurst Place
Wakehurst Place Garden
Wakehurst Place is National Trust property located near Ardingly, West Sussex in the High Weald of southern England , comprising a late 16th century country house and a mainly 20th century garden, managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property, and (jointly with the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
) Bedgebury Pinetum
Bedgebury Pinetum
Bedgebury National Pinetum at Bedgebury, Kent, in the United Kingdom, is a recreational and conservational arboretum and, with the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, comprises the UK National Arboreta. It was established as the National Conifer Collection in 1925 and is now recognised as the most...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the latter specialising in growing conifers
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
.
The Harvard University Herbaria
Harvard University Herbaria
The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts...
and the Australian National Herbarium co-operate with Kew in the IPNI
IPNI
The International Plant Names Index is a database of botanical names. It indexes names of seed plants, ferns and "fern allies". Coverage is best at the rank of species and genus...
database to produce an authoritative source of information on botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical...
.
Seedbank
Kew is important as a seedbank
Seedbank
A seedbank stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. The reasons for storing seeds may be varied...
. It co-sponsors the Millennium Seed Bank Project
Millennium Seed Bank Project
The Millennium Seed Bank Project is an international conservation project coordinated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Launched in the year 2000 and housed in the Wellcome Trust Millennium Building situated in the grounds of Wakehurst Place, West Sussex, its purpose is to provide an "insurance...
inside the Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
Millennium Building at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
Library and archives
The library and archives at Kew are one of the world's largest botanical collections, with over half a million items, including books, botanical illustrations, photographs, letters and manuscripts, periodicals, and maps. The Jodrell Library was recently merged with the Economic Botany and Mycology Libraries and all are now housed in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Forensic horticulture
Kew provides advice and guidance to police forces around the world where plant material may provide important clues or evidence in cases. In one famous case the forensic science department at Kew were able to acertain that the contents of the stomach of a headless corpse found in the river Thames contained a highly toxic African bean.
Economic Botany
The Sustainable Uses of Plants group (formerly the Centre for Economic Botany
Economic Botany
Economic Botany is an academic journal that deals with the commercial uses of plants, or economic botany. It covers fields such as ethnopharmacology as well as potential new commercial crops....
), focus on the uses of plants in the United Kingdom and the world's arid and semi-arid zones. The Centre is also responsible for curation of the Economic Botany Collection, which contains more than 90,000 botanical raw materials and ethnographic artefacts, some of which are on display in the Plants + People exhibit in Museum No. 1. The Centre is now located in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Jodrell Laboratory
The original Jodrell laboratory, named after Mr T.J. Phillips Jodrell who funded it was established in 1877 and consisted of four research rooms and an office. Originally research was conducted into plant physiology but this was gradually superseded by botanical research. In 1934 an artists studio was added together with a photographic darkroom highlighting the importance of botanical illustration. In 1965, following increasing overcrowding a new building was constructed and research expanded into seed collection for plant conservation. The biochemistry section also expanded to facilitate research into secondary compounds that could be derived from plants for medicinal purposes. In 1994 the centre was expanded again, tripling in size and a decade later it was further expanded by the addition of the Wolfson Wing.
Alpine house
The new house features a set of automatically operated blinds that prevent it overheating when the sun is too hot for the plants together with a system that blows a continuous stream of cool air over the plants. The main design aim of the house is to allow maximum light transmission. To this end the glass is of a special low iron type that allows 90% of the ultraviolet light in sunlight to pass. It is attached by high tension steel cables so that no light is obstructed by traditional glazing bars.
To conserve energy the cooling air is not refrigerated but is cooled by being passed through a labyrinth of pipes buried under the house at a depth where the temperature remains suitable all year round. A design goal of the house is that the maximum temperature will not exceed 20 degrees Celsius.
Kew's collection of Alpine plants (defined as those that grow above the tree-line in their locale - ground level at the poles rising to over 2000 metres in the Alps), extends to over 7000 and as the Alpine house can only house around 200 at a time the ones on show are regularly rotated.
Chokushi-Mon
Japan-British Exhibition (1910)
The took place at White City, London in Great Britain from 14 May 1910 to 29 October 1910. It was the largest international exposition that the Empire of Japan had participated in to date, and was driven by a desire of Japan to develop a more favorable public image in Great Britain following the...
and moved to Kew in 1911, the Chokushi-Mon (敕使門 ‘Imperial Envoy's Gateway’) is a four-fifths scale replica of the karamon
Karamon
The is a type of gate seen in Japanese architecture. It is characterized by the usage of karahafu, an undulating bargeboard peculiar to Japan. Karamon are often used at the entrances of Japanese castles, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and have historically been a symbol of...
(gateway) of the Nishi Hongan-ji
Nishi Honganji
or the "Western Temple of the Original Vow", is one of two temple complexes of Jodo Shinshu in Kyoto, the other being Higashi Honganji...
temple in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. It lies about west of the Pagoda and is surrounded by a reconstruction of a traditional Japanese garden.
Compost heap
Kew has one of the largest compost heaps in Europe, made from green waste from the gardens and the waste from the stables of the Household CavalryHousehold Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
. The compost is mainly used in the gardens, but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fund-raising event for the gardens.
The compost heap is in an area of the gardens not accessible to the general public, but a viewing platform has been erected to allow visitors to observe the heap as it goes through its cycle.
Guided walks
Free tours of the gardens are conducted by trained volunteers and leave from Victoria Gate at and every day (except Christmas Day).International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition
This competition is now an annual event with an outdoor display of entries during the summer months.Kew Palace
To the rear of the building is the "Queen's Garden" which includes a collection of plants believed to have medicinal qualities. Only plants that were extant in England by the 17th century are grown in the garden.
The building underwent significant restoration before being reopened to the public in 2006.
It is administered separately from the gardens and is the only permanently open attraction within the grounds that requires an additional fee to view.
Minka House
Machiya
' are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto. Machiya and nōka constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture known as minka...
. It was originally erected in around 1900 in a suburb of Okazaki
Okazaki, Aichi
is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of August 2011, the city had an estimated population of 373,339 and a population density of 964 persons per km². The total area was 387.24 km².-Geography:...
. Japanese craftsmen reassembled the framework and British builders who had worked on the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
added the mud wall panels.
Work on the house started on 7 May 2001 and when the framework was completed on , a Japanese ceremony was held to mark what was considered an auspicious occasion. Work on the building of the house was completed in November 2001 but the internal artifacts were not all in place until 2006.
The Minka house is located within the bamboo collection in the West central part of the gardens.
Marianne North Gallery
Marianne North
Marianne North was an English naturalist and botanical artist-Life with her parents:Marianne North was born at Hastings, the eldest daughter of a prosperous land-owning family descended from the Hon. Roger North, younger son of Dudley North, 4th Baron North...
, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia, at a time when women rarely did so, to paint plants. The gallery has 832 of her paintings. The paintings were left to Kew by the artist and a condition of the bequest is that the layout of the paintings in the gallery may not be altered.
The gallery had suffered considerable structural degradation since its creation and during a period from 2008 to 2009 major restoration and refurbishment took place. During the time the gallery was closed the opportunity was also taken to restore the paintings to their original condition. The gallery reopened in October 2009.
The gallery originally opened in 1882 and is the only permanent exhibition dedicated solely to the work of one woman in Great Britain.
Museum
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
and opened in 1857. Housing Kew's economic botany collections including tools, ornaments, clothing, food and medicines, its aim was to illustrate human dependence on plants. The building was refurbished in 1998. The upper two floors are now an education centre and the ground floor houses the "Plants+People" exhibition which highlights the variety of plants and the ways that people use them.
Admission to the galleries and museum is free after paying admission to the Gardens.
Nash Conservatory
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, this was moved to Kew in 1836 by King William IV. With an abundance of natural light the building is used to house displays of photographs and small, educational exhibitions.
Orangery
The Orangery was designed by Sir William Chambers, and was completed in 1761. It measures x . After many changes of use, it is currently used as a restaurant.Pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
(by Sir William Chambers), erected in 1762, from a design in imitation of the Chinese Ta
Chinese pagoda
Chinese Pagodas are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been praised for the spectacular views which they offer, and many famous poems in Chinese history attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.-History:The pagoda is...
. The lowest of the ten octagonal storeys is 49 feet in diameter. From the base to the highest point is 163 feet (.
Each storey finishes with a projecting roof, after the Chinese manner, originally covered with ceramic tiles and adorned with large dragons; a story is still propagated that they were made of gold and were reputedly sold by George IV to settle his debts. The truth is that the dragons were made of wood painted gold, and simply rotted away with the ravages of time. The walls of the building are composed of brick. The staircase, 253 steps, is in the centre of the building. The Pagoda was closed to the public for many years, but was reopened for the summer months of 2006. There are still, supposedly, plans for it to open to the public once again.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
holes were cut in each floor to allow for drop-testing of model bombs.
Palm House
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
and iron-founder Richard Turner
Richard Turner (iron-founder)
Richard Turner was an Irish iron-founder and manufacturer of glasshouses, born in Dublin.His works included the Palm House at Kew Gardens , the glasshouse in the Winter Gardens at Regent's Park in London, the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Curvilinear Range at the Irish National...
, and continues upon the glass house design principles developed by John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...
and Joseph Paxton
Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton was an English gardener and architect, best known for designing The Crystal Palace.-Early life:...
. A space frame of wrought iron arches, held together by horizontal tubular structures containing long prestressed cables, supports glass panes which were originally tinted green with copper oxide to reduce the significant heating effect. The 19m high central nave is surrounded by a walkway at 9m height, allowing visitors a closer look upon the palm tree crowns.
Princess of Wales Conservatory
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
Conservatory, designed by architect Gordon Wilson, was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three Princesses of Wales who never became queen consort...
's associations with Kew. In 1989 the conservatory received the Europa Nostra award for conservation. The conservatory houses ten computer-controlled micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the greenhouse volume composed of Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants. Significant numbers of orchids, water lilies, cacti, lithops, carnivorous plants and bromeliads are housed in the various zones. The cactus collection also extends outside the conservatory where some hardier species can be found.
With an area of 4499 square meters the conservatory is designed to minimise the amount of energy taken to run it and to this end the cooler zones are grouped around the outside with the more tropical zones in the central area where heat is conserved. The glass roof extends down to the ground which give the conservatory a distinctive appearance and helps to maximise the use of the sun's energy.
During the construction of the conservatory a time capsule was buried containing the seeds of basic crops and endangered plant species and key publications on conservation.
Queen Charlotte's Cottage
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
as a wedding present on her marriage to George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. It has been restored by Historic Royal Palaces and is separately administered by them.
It is open to the public on the May Day and August bank holidays and at weekends during July and August.
Rhizotron
A rhizotronRhizotron
A Rhizotron is a laboratory constructed underground in order to study the soil and its interactions with plants and animals. Typically equipped with a central corridor with viewing windows into the soil profiles on either side...
opened at the same time as the "treetop walkway" giving visitors the opportunity to investigate what happens beneath the ground where trees grow. The rhizotron is essentially a single gallery containing a set of large bronze abstract castings which contain LCD screens that carry repeating loops of information about the life of trees.
Sackler Crossing
Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
and John Pawson
John Pawson
John Pawson is a British designer associated with the minimalist aesthetic.-Biography:Pawson studied at Eton College and the Architectural Association School of Architecture and is married to Catherine and has two children, Caius and Benedict.-Selected projects:London's Cannelle Cake Shop, several...
, it crosses the lake and is named in honour of philanthropists Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler
Mortimer Sackler
Dr Mortimer David Sackler KBE was an American physician and entrepreneur. With his brothers Arthur M. Sackler and Raymond Sackler he used his fortune from the pharmaceutical industry to become a prominent philanthropist....
.
The minimalist styled bridge is designed as a sweeping double curve of black granite and the sides are formed of bronze posts that give the impression, from certain angles, of forming a solid wall whereas from others, and to those on the bridge, they are clearly individual entities that allow a view of the water beyond.
It forms part of a path designed to encourage visitors to visit more of the gardens than had hitherto been popular and connect the two art galleries, via the temperate and evolution houses and the woodland glade, to the Minka House and bamboo garden.
The crossing won a special award from the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
in 2008.
Shirley Sherwood Gallery
Shirley Sherwood
Dr. Shirley Sherwood is a collector of, and author of books about, botanical illustrations. The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, opened on 19 April 2008, at Kew Gardens houses her collection, and is named after her. It is the first gallery in the world dedicated solely to botanical art...
collections, many of which had never been displayed to the public before. It features paintings by artists such as Georg D. Ehret
Georg Dionysius Ehret
Georg Dionysius Ehret was a botanist and entomologist, and is best known for his botanical illustrations.Ehret was born in Germany to Ferdinand Christian Ehret, a gardener and competent draughtsman, and Anna Maria Ehret. Beginning his working life as a gardener's apprentice near Heidelberg, he...
, the Bauer brothers
Franz Bauer
Franz Andreas Bauer was an Austrian microscopist and botanical artist.Born in Feldsberg, Moravia , he was the son of Lucas Bauer , court painter to the Prince of Liechtenstein, and brother of the painters Josef Anton and Ferdinand Bauer...
, Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté , was a Belgian painter and botanist, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison. He was nicknamed "The Raphael of flowers"....
and Walter Hood Fitch
Walter Hood Fitch
Walter Hood Fitch was a botanical illustrator, born in Glasgow, Scotland, who executed some 10,000 drawings for various publications...
. The paintings and drawings are cycled on a six monthly basis. The gallery is linked to the Marianne North Gallery (see above).
Temperate House
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
and ironfounder Richard Turner
Richard Turner (iron-founder)
Richard Turner was an Irish iron-founder and manufacturer of glasshouses, born in Dublin.His works included the Palm House at Kew Gardens , the glasshouse in the Winter Gardens at Regent's Park in London, the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Curvilinear Range at the Irish National...
. Covering 4880 square metres, it rises to a height of 19 metres. Intended to accommodate Kew's expanding collection of hardy and temperate plants, it took forty years to construct, during which time costs soared.
There is a viewing gallery in the central section from which visitors may look down on that part of the collection.
Treetop walkway
The image to the left shows a section of the walkway and the steel supports that were designed to rust to a tree-like appearance to help the walkway fit in with its surroundings.
There is a short film detailing the construction of the walkway available online.
Vehicular tour
Kew Explorer is a service that takes a circular route around the gardens, provided by two 72-seater road trainTrackless train
A trackless train is a road-going articulated vehicle used for the transport of passengers, comprising a driving vehicle pulling one or more carriages connected by drawbar couplings, in the manner of a road going railway train.-Terminology:Trackless train or land train...
s that are fueled by Calor Gas to minimise pollution. A commentary is provided by the driver and there are several stops.
A map of the gardens is available at Map of Kew Gardens
Waterlily House
Plant collections at Kew
The Aquatic GardenSituated near the Jodrell laboratory, the Aquatic Garden, which celebrated its centenary in 2009, provides conditions for aquatic and marginal plants. The large central pool holds a selection of summer-flowering waterlilies whilst the corner pools contain plants such as reed mace, bulrushes, phragmites and smaller floating aquatic species.
The Arboretum
The arboretum at Kew covers over half of the total area of the site and contains over 14,000 trees of many thousands of varieties.
The Cacti collection
This is housed in and around the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
The Carnivorous Plant collection
This is housed in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
The Grass Garden
Created on its current site in the early 1980s to display ornamental and economic grasses the Grass Garden was redesigned and replanted between 1994 and 1997. It is currently undergoing a further redesign and planting. Over 580 species of grasses are displayed.
The Herbaceous Grounds (Order Beds)
The Order Beds were devised in the late 1860s by Sir Joseph Hooker, then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, so that botany students could learn to recognise plants and experience at first hand the diversity of the plant kingdom. The collection is organised into family groups. Its name arose because plant families were known as natural orders in the 19th century. Over the main path is a rose pergola built in 1959 to mark the bicentennial of the Gardens. It supports climber and rambling roses selected for the length and profusion of flowering.
The Orchid collection
The orchid collection is housed in two climate zones within the Princess of Wales Conservatory. To maintain an interesting display the plants are changed regularly so that those on view are generally flowering.
The Rock Garden
Originally built of limestone in 1882, it is now constructed of Sussex sandstone from West Hoathly, Sussex. The rock garden is divided into six geographic regions: Europe, Mediterranean and Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, North America, and South America.There are currently 2,480 different 'accessions' growing in the garden.
The Rose Garden
The Rose Garden, based upon original designs by William Nesfield, is behind the Palm House, and was replanted between 2009 and 2010 using the original design from 1848. It is intended as an ornamental display rather than a collection of a particularly large number of varieties.
Other collections
Other collections and specialist areas include the bonsai
Bonsai
is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
collection, the rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
dell, the azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
garden, the bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
garden, the juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
collection, the berberis
Berberis
Berberis , the barberries or pepperidge bushes, is a genus of about 450-500 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. They are closely related to the genus...
dell, the lilac
Lilac
Syringa is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family , native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere....
garden, the magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
collection, and the fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
collection.
The Plant List
The Plant ListThe Plant List
The Plant List is a list of botanical names of species of plants, available on the world wide web. It was created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden...
is an Internet encyclopedia project
Internet encyclopedia project
An Internet encyclopedia project is a large database of useful information, accessible via the World Wide Web. The idea to build a free encyclopedia using the Internet can be traced at least to the 1993 Interpedia proposal; it was planned as an encyclopedia on the Internet to which everyone could...
to compile a comprehensive list of botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical...
, created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder Henry Shaw, a botanist and philanthropist.-History:...
. The Plant List has 1,040,426 scientific plant names of species rank of which 298,900 are accepted species names. In addition, the list has 620 plant families and 16,167 plant genera.
Conservation successes
The world's smallest water lily, Nymphaea thermarumNymphaea thermarum
Nymphaea thermarum is the world's smallest water lily. The pads of N. thermarum measure only across, less than 10% the width of the next smallest species in the genus Nymphaea. By comparison, the largest water lily has pads that can reach...
, was saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at Kew, in 2009.
TV / DVD
There have been three series of A Year at Kew filmed in the gardens for BBC television. These have been released on DVD, including a box set of all three series.Transport
Public transportThe nearest combined rail and London Underground station is Kew Gardens (District Line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
and London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
) to the east of the gardens. To the north, Kew Bridge railway station
Kew Bridge railway station
Kew Bridge railway station is in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains....
is about 10–15 minutes from the main entrance, with trains to Clapham Junction and Waterloo. The two bus routes suitable for the gardens are 65
London Buses route 65
London Buses route 65 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
and 391
London Buses route 391
London Buses route 391 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
.
Cycle and Car
There are cycle racks located just inside the Victoria Gate, Main Gate and Brentford Gate entrances to the park. For those arriving by car there is a 300-space car park outside Brentford Gate.
See also
- Botanists active at Kew Gardens
- Joseph Dalton HookerJoseph Dalton HookerSir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
who succeeded his father as director in 1865. - The Great Plant HuntThe Great Plant HuntThe Great Plant Hunt is a primary school plant science learning initiative, developed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is supported by DEFRA, Sir David Attenborough, and Science Learning Centres in the UK....
– a primary school science initiative created by Kew Gardens, commissioned and funded by the Wellcome TrustWellcome TrustThe Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research... - Kew Constabulary
- Kew BulletinKew BulletinKew Bulletin is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal on plant and fungal taxonomy published by Springer Science+Business Media on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was established in 1887...
External links
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Official website
- Millennium Seed Bank Project
- Kew on Facebook
- Kew on YouTube
- Kew on Twitter
- Pictures of Kew - Your Kew group on Flickr
- The International Plant Names Index
- BBC A Year at Kew documentary behind the scenes at Kew Gardens
- Images and some highlights of Kew
- Macro pictures of flowers and plants in Kew
- World Garden (1941), British Council Film Archive
- A short movie about Kew Gardens
- Sky News pictures and video introducing Treetop Walkway
- 1903 illustrated article – The Days Work in Kew Gardens
- Kew Library, Art & Archives