Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens, the worlds first Botanic Garden, covers an area of 300 acres on the banks of the River Thames, and has four entrances although the main entrance is Victoria Gate off Kew Road.

 Princess of Wales Conservatory

A little bit of History

They date from 1678 when it was owned by the Earl of Essex's brother, Sir Henry Capel, it came into Royal ownership in 1718 and was much visited by George II and Queen Caroline who stayed there in what was then Richmond Lodge. Their son, Frederick, Prince of Wales and his wife Augusta enhanced the buildings and gardens and after his death, George III, his wife Queen Charlotte and his family spent each summer at Kew. 

Sir Joseph Banks, who had sailed around the world as botanist with Captain James Cook, was appointed by the King to take charge of the gardens and he encouraged plant hunters to search for and send back exotic species from the West Indies, Africa, Australasia, China and India. The Cycad in the Palm House labelled 'the oldest pot plant in the world' was brought back from Africa in 1775.

In the early 19th century the gardens suffered a period of decline with George IV and William IV taking less interest in them, but by the 20th century the emphasis on science and conservation continued with the rebuilding of the Jodrell Laboratory, the new Economic House, and the development of the Library and Herbarium. In 1984 responsibility for Kew Gardens was placed in the hands of a Board of Trustees under the National Heritage Act.

A Visit to Kew

As well as a large amount of open ground  Kew has so much to offer the photographer and any visitor from it's many buildings, spectacular statuary, follies, temples, sculptures, parterres, through to museums and galleries and of course what is planted within the grounds. See the top attractions list below for a more detailed look at what you can see.

It also has a large collection of trees, some lovely walks and many vistas designed to lead the eye to its treasures. The landscape over time has been fashioned by many of the leading garden designers of their day including Charles Bridgeman, 'Capability Brown' and W. A Nesfield. Many of its structures are situated within quiet almost private - gardens, with wide sweeping lawns, lakes, ponds, in fact it would be hard to name any garden feature anyone would want that is not at Kew. It also has a profusion of plants, shrubs, grasses, bamboos and so on of every kind. You could visit Kew almost every day of the year and see something new and different each time.

There are many attractions both outside and undercover at Kew, from the gardens to the buildings as well as various activities put on for visitors, some of which are listed below, but a detailed look around their website will give you far more.

Kew's Top Attractions include 3 buildings which together cover over four acres of floor space and are home to largest collection of exotic plants in the world, providing an array of colours and textures sure to delight.

• Palm House - where you can experience a tropical rainforest environment

• Temperate House - their biggest public glasshouse which is home to the world's tallest indoor plant

• Princess of Wales Conservatory - houses 10 different climate zones and houses a large variety of plants including orchids and cacti.

• Xstrata Treetop Walkway - This takes you into the tree canopy some 18 metres up and allows you to get a spectacular birds-eye view of the Kew.

Other Glasshouses include:-

• The Davies Alpine House, housing a colourful collection of alpine plants. This is the latest addition to their glasshouses and was the first new glasshouse to be commissioned for two decades. It is located at the north end of the Rock Garden.

• The Evolution House, designed for children, takes you through the 3500m years of plant evolution.

• The Plants and People Exhibition demonstrates the importance of plants to mankind.

• Bonsai House - it displays at any one time 10 miniature trees from their collection, some of which are over 150 years old.

• Marine Display - This is in the basement of the Palm House and recreates 4 major marine habitats and their plants.

• Waterlily House - It was designed to house the giant waterlilly, but it never thrived there, instead another one of its closest relatives is housed here in its large pond, together with other climbers that like the moist environment.

There are also a number of museums, galleries and historic buildings to explore, including:-

• Cambridge Cottage - added to the gardens in 1904, it now houses the Kew Gardens Gallery.
• Ice House
• Kew Palace - the smallest of the royal palaces.
• Orangey - only surviving plant house designed by Sir William Chambers.
• Pagoda - 10 storey octagonal structure that stands 163ft high.
• Queen Charlottes Cottage - 18th Century thatched cottage which was a private haven for Queen Charlotte and her family.

Other Decorative Structures and Gates include:

• Lion Gate
• Brentford Gate
• Main Gate
• Victoria Gate
• Japanese Gateway
• Ruined Arch build in 1759 by Sir William Chambers
• Temple of Aeolus built in the 1760's
• Temple of Arethusa - near Victoria Gate
• Temple of Bellona, named after the Roman goddess of ware
• Temple of imagination - built in 2006

Visiting Kew If you attempting to make a trip to Kew it is advisable to take time to plan your visit. In our planning grids below we have tried to give you the basics of what you need to know, to get you there. However due to it's size (300 acres) and wealth of different items and aspects to see, it is not possible to do Kew in a single day, and on any visit you should allow at least 3-4 hours. For this reason it might be wise to take a look at their website and try to put an itinerary together of what you want to get in on your visit and anything you particularly want to photograph. Their PDF map shows the various locations of different items and should help you plan a trip so that you can take in an area at a time, but you will also then identify which of the 4 entrance gates you need to take for your visit.

They also have BulbWatch a page dedicated to letting you know which areas are festooned in colour from the many millions of bulbs they have planted including daffodils, snowdrops, crocus, bluebells etc

For the children there is Climbers and Creepers an indoor interactive botanical play zone, but they also have a Parents Survival Guide giving you some of idea of the sorts of places children will like most and therefore allow you to plan a suitable visit for the smaller people on your visit.

Japanese Gate and gardens

Further information Grid

Location:	Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey
Ceremonial County:	Surrey
Grid Reference:	TQ183768
Map Link:	StreetMap
Aerial photo:	Google Aerial Photo
Route(s):
Best Times to Visit:	Any time - although during the spring and summer months when outdoor plants are in full bloom and autumn when trees are shedding their leaves will be at it's most colourful outside.
E-mail:	info@kew.org
Website:	www.kew.org
Other useful websites:	www.visitrichmond.co.uk
Nearby Locations:	Kew Palace
Other Relevant pages:	History of Kew Gardens World Heritage Sites      World Heritage Sites - Further Information World Heritage Sites in the UK

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Planning Grid

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