The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew

After a "hearty" breakfast, we made our way to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Back in 2010, I was in England doing historical research as part of a research grant that I had received, and I spent a fair amount of time in Kew --- except I was cooped up in the National Archives, rather than strolling this beautiful botanical paradise.

Wikipedia writes, "the Kew site, which dates from 1759, comprises 121 hectares (about 300 acres) of gardens and botanical glasshouses…It is one of London's top tourists attractions. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is the world's largest collection of living plants. Its 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 seven million preserved specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants."Wow. I'm impressed. I could go on and on and on, since Wikipedia has a lot to say, but I won't. That's boring. If however you are interested in learning for about the gardens, please click here.

300 acres?! That's bigger than the Bronx Botanical gardens, which is 250 acres! Needless to say, in one day, my parents and I did not see all 300 acres. In fact, I think we only made a small dent. Although we were only at the gardens for a couple of hours, I still think we managed to see quite a lot!

The Palm House

Our first stop was the Palm House, which was built by architect Decimus Burton (amazing name, I know) and iron-maker Richard Turner. Construction was between 1844 ~ 1848. The Palm House is considered the "world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure", as it if the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. All the glass you see is hand blown! The Palm House specializes in the growing of palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. I can tell you for a fact, it was a bit like a sauna in there! Too hot for my taste.

Welcome to the Jungle

Such thick bamboo!

I was intrigued by these statues of mythical beasts, which line the front of the Palm House. They all represent mythical breasts related to Britain. Very cool. 

The Palm House was too warm, so we departed rather quickly, only to enter another warm greenhouse. Right next door is the Waterlily House. This is supposedly one of Kew's hottest and most humid buildings (I believe it!) and it dates back to 1852. The Waterlily House has the largest species of water lilies, including the Victoria amazonica. 

So beautiful!

From the Waterlily House, our exploration of Kew Gardens began. Map in hand, we went forth, in search of spectacular gardens.

Very cool stall describing medicinal plants 

Tree blanket --- never seen that before

During our wanderings, we stumbled upon the Princess of Wales Conservatory. This conservatory, dedicated to the late Princess Diana, houses 10 different climate zones! The conservatory was commissioned in 1982 and was originally named after Princess Augusta (mother to mad King George III), founder of Kew. The conservatory was officially opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales. It is the most complex of Kew's many conservatories due to the numerous climate zones that is houses. The ten climates zones are: dry tropics, and eight seasonally dry zones. There is also a carnivorous plants section and ferns/orchids section. 

Some commemorations

Beware of the Venus fly traps!

Giant lily pads

Next, we stumbled upon Kew's Rock Garden. The original rock garden dates back to the end of the 19th century. To quote the Kew  Gardens website: "Dirctor Willian Thistleton-Dyer, wanting to avoid creating something "uncouth and obtrusive", opted to design a 150-metre valley, akin to a Pyrenean mountain habitat. At its center was a winding path, simulating a natural watercourse. It was fashioned from blocks of cheddar limestone, Bath oolite, and rocks salvaged from ruins of former Kew building sites."  Based on the website, I get the sense that this wasn't the most desirable or popular attraction, but I found it quite beautiful!

Just beyond the Rock Garden is the "Plant Family Beds and Rose Pergola" garden. This is a giant garden that is organized based on plant families. Believe it or not, this garden used to be the kitchen garden, which supplied fruit and veggies to the royal family. In 1846, a new kitchen garden was designed at Frogmore, so the produce from Kew was not needed anymore. Rather than let the land go to waste, Queen Victoria presented the garden to the then director of Kew, William Jackson Hooker, who filled it with a variety of "hardy herbaceous plants arranged in irregular beds according to the classification of French botanist, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu." In 1869, the garden layout was changed and grouped into families, based on classifications described in Genera Plantarum (1862~1863), which was written by Hooker's son, Joseph Hooker, and a Kew botanist, George Bentham. 

I will admit, I don't have much of a green thumb and I am fairly ignorant when it comes to plants, but what I do know is that this garden was absolutely GORGEOUS! The varieties of species, colors, shape…it was really and truly beautiful! My parents spent quite a while in this garden, strolling and taking photographs. 

Whilst the back half of the garden is flowers, the front half of the garden still grows produce. Onions, lettuce, strawberries, pears, etc… There was quite a selection. There is even a scarecrow!

By this point, we had been wandering for hours and our feet were beginning to hurt. Still, before leaving, I was determined to visit the "Walking Tall: Treetop Walkway." This walkway is located 18 m (about 60 ft) above the ground and is 200 m (about 656 ft) across. It was designed by Marks Barfield Architects --- the same designers of the London Eye. This walkway allows you to walk at the same level of the tree tops and see the garden from a new vantage point. The view wasn't quite as good as I had hope and the walkway shakes a little bit, which it rather unsettling when you are 60 ft off the ground… Still, it was an experience, and it was kind of cool being "up in the trees.'

View of the Orangery from the top

Hello, people down there!

Our visit to Kew Gardens was really splendid. The weather was beautiful and the gardens were gorgeous! Sure, we probably saw about 10% of what the Royal Botanical Gardens has to offer, but that means that were will be more to see on our next visit. If you want to get out of London for a day or even half a day and you enjoy flowers, I definitely recommend a visit to Kew Gardens! There is so much to see, you won't be bored! 

Some cool bags I found at the gift shop