Kew Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond upon Thames and Kew in southwest London, England.

Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at Kew Park formed by Lord Capel of Tewkesbury, enlarged and greatly extended by Princess Augusta, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, for whom Sir William Chambers built several garden structures, of which the lofty Chinese pagoda from 1761 remains.

Beginning as a mere nine acres in 1751, the plants and grounds have blossomed to its current three hundred. It's estimated that the gardens house as much as 12% of examples of the world's known plant species.

George III enriched Kew Gardens, aided by the skill of William Aiton and of 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.

In 1840 Kew Gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden. Under Kew's new director, William Hooker, the gardens were increased to 30 ha (75 acres), and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum, extended to 109 ha (270 acres), and later to its current size of 120 ha (300 acres).

There are six large Victorian greenhouses, such as the glass and iron Palm House from 1848. Palm House was one of the first uses of wrought iron on a large scale.

The Palm House at Kew Gardens 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 Temperate house, which is twice as large, followed later in the 19th century. Kew Gardens boasts the largest Victorian glasshouse now in existence.

The Temperate house, which is twice as large, followed later in the 19th century. This lead to Kew Gardens being able to boast that it has the largest Victorian glasshouse now in existence.

The Grass Garden is one of the more unusual offerings for a botanical museum, housing over 600 varieties of grass. There's even the fascinating Wood Museum explaining to visitors how paper is manufactured.

Kew has long been home to extraordinary botanical science. The first successful effort to cultivate rubber trees outside South America took place on the grounds.

1987 saw the opening of the third major Kew Gardens conservatory, the Princess of Wales Conservatory (opened by Princess Diana in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta's associations with Kew), which houses 10 different climate zones.

In July 2003, Kew Gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

On 10 August 2003, a temperature of 38.1C (100.6F) was recorded at Kew Gardens, which is considered by many to be the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK.

Kew Palace and Gardens is about 45 minutes outside central London on the District Line, Kew Gardens Station. The grounds are a 10-minute walk from the station. You can rest after the walk, though. Just hop on the trolley that takes you around to the eight zones into which the 300 acres is divided.

Further information can be found on the Kew Gardens official website.

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