Hortus Kew, oh forget the Latin, its Kew GardensWhen mum and I climbed from the District line Underground train we discovered a pretty and quaint flower festooned station and what I suppose you would expect from our destination. Mum and I were taking another day out this time choosing the Richmond area as our destination.
Mum is a keen gardener with fingers so green that should she come across a dying or wilting plant all she need do is blow on it to revive it. This was a contributing factor in our choice of day out and where better for a gardener but T
HE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS AT KEW.**************
HISTORY OF KEWPrincess Augusta, mother of George III was an amateur botanist and on land leased by Queen Caroline and George II, founded the Gardens of Kew. George III continued his mother's work he had a passionate interest in horticulture and so was nicknamed Farmer George. He chose Kew Palace and the grounds as a home to his family outside of court. George was isolated at Kew during his madness until his recovery.
In 1840 the gardens became a national Botanical Gardens. Queen Victoria gave numerous buildings to the gardens and eventually it was extended from its original 75 acres into the gardens we have today
In the big storm of 1987 some of the old trees around the lawn behind the Water lily House were uprooted and knocked down or destroyed. However there were some benefits as one of the old trees was partly uprooted and the soil around its roots loosened and has since thrived even better than before.
In 2003 Kew was recognised as a "unique cultural landscape" by the United Nations, and was given World Heritage Site status. The then UK environment minister Lord Whitty said: "The gardens give pleasure to a million visitors each year while contributing on a major scale to the conservation and understanding of biodiversity."
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HOW TO GET THERE.On the south bank of the Thames near to Richmond is a 300 acre site that is home to Kew Gardens A205 passes the main gate of Kew Gardens and Kew Road A307 gives access to Victoria Gate. Kew encourages visitors to use public transport because of the limited parking and also it is better for the environment. Well why not, travelling in a car around London at the best of times is difficult.
Bicycle racks are located at Victoria and Main Gates although left at the owners risk and not allowed within the gardens. Several buses go directly to Kew or to either of the two railway stations, Kew Bridge and Kew Gardens. Buses 65, 237 and 391
A 300 space car park is available at Brentford Gate via Ferry Lane near the Main Gate. It costs about £5.00 for a full day closing 30 minutes after the gardens. For security reasons, all vehicles are searched. Free parking is available on Kew Road after 10 am although this area is also used for coaches.
Travelling by train or tube is a lot easier than travelling by car. Take the Silverlink Richmond every 20 minutes, Southwest trains Brentford. If travelling by tube take District Line (Green) but you must take the Richmond branch (you don't want to end up at Wimbledon or Ealing Broadway) From either station it is a pleasant 5 minutes walk to the gardens.
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ADMISSIONGardens onlyAdults £13.90, Concessions £11.90, Children under 17 (to be accompanied by an adult) FREE
Wheelchair users £8.75, Blind and partially-sighted visitors Free, Essential carers of wheelchair users and blind/partially sighted visitors Free
In addition to these prices if you want to visit Kew Palace or the Pagoda further admission charges apply
Kew Palace Adult £5.30 Concession £4.50 Children under 17 years £3
Pagoda Per person £3
Personally I feel making an extra charge for seeing specific areas in a place of interest unfair and the admission price should reflect the cost of the whole site as this can become very expensive for more than one visitor. However in the winter months all charges to the gardens are reduced.
Because Kew is a charity the majority of the admissions charges go towards the research, development and conservation of plants and flowers.
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OUR VISITBefore I go any further let me just say if I wrote about everything within Kew Gardens it would turn out to be an epic. There were just far too many places and items to see and write about and I now feel as though I have done enough of that already not to mention edit this review 5 times before coming up with the final draft.
So I decided I would tell you about a few of the place we saw. To say any more I think would spoil your own discover of these splendid gardens.
KEW EXPLORERMum and I discovered the ideal way to travel around the gardens was to climb aboard the Kew Explorer. The Explorer is a 72 seater 3 car 'people mover' powered by Calor Gas '(gas power is a lot cleaner than diesel and petrol especially in somewhere like Kew), with a driver providing commentary as you travel.
For £4 per adult and £1 per child you are given a wrist band which allows you to hop on and hop off all day. The vehicle runs between 11am and 4.30 pm 363 days of the year with 20 minutes between each pick up. You can buy the tickets at the main gates or just wait at one of the stops and pay the driver as you get on.
The 40 minute circuit passes by every major point of interest with 8 stops spread throughout the gardens beginning at Victoria Gate. There is space for one wheelchair containing a person in the rear carriage although there is further space for fold up wheelchairs and pushchairs behind the drivers cab
CAMPANILEOne noticeable feature at Victoria Gate is the Campanile looking like an Italian bell tower. This was built to disguise the chimney for the Palm House boilers. Originally below the tower a tunnel ran carrying the flue and coal tracks to the boilers but now it carries piped hot water from modern water boilers near by. It is pretty to look at and certainly a landmark to get your bearing by.
THE WATER LILY HOUSENow this pretty little glasshouse both Mum and I could have spent ages inside, it was peaceful, but on such a hot day, and considering the Water Lily House is the hottest and most humid in the gardens physically we could not stay in there too long.
This small glasshouse was built next to the Palm house in 1852 and at the time it was the largest single span glasshouse in the world housing a giant Amazonian water lily but in 1866 it was converted into a glasshouse for other plants. Fortunately in 1991 it was converted back into its original use and beauty.
Inside is a giant pool covered with water lilies, big green lily pads up to 4 feet in diameter with beautiful white and mauve lilies as big as dinner plates. But what was surprising was the colour of the water in the pool it looked almost black, not clear as you would expect. Around the inner wall of glasshouse are the plant beds. These are raised and house many unusual, tropical and water plants.
One of the most unusual we saw was the pitcher plant and is in fact a carnivorous plant. Inside the strikingly orange coloured pitcher shaped flower is a fluid swilling around the bottom. When insects rest on the inside they slip on the secretions falling to be digested in the fluid at the bottom. Strangely it is a beautiful plant but is deadly.
The Sacred lotus flower with a heavenly fragrance grew alongside these in a strange contrast. Other plants found in here included rice which I had never actually seen growing before and was surprised to find it grows like corn and others like papyrus, banana, loofah, sugarcane and lemon grass. These plants are class as economically important as they are food crop.
THE PALM HOUSE POND AND TERRACEWe chose to have a snack on the benches of the Palm House Terrace gazing across the flower beds towards the pond and the No1 museum. The ornamental, rectangular pond was designed in 1845 was to reflect the Palm House once completed in its waters. At the centre is The fountain of Hercules wrestling the serpent river-god Achelous. This is a eye-catching scene and on such a lovely summer day as we were having a delightful place to take a breather.
There is a row of benches along the terrace interspersed with replica statues of the Queens Beasts (The originals were carved to stand outside Westminster Abbey during the Queens Coronation.) to illustrate the royal lineage. Having not seen the likes of these before I took a wander along the length of the terrace for a closer look and boy were there some strange creatures.
The only negative point about the terrace is not from Kew itself. As the gardens lie less than 10 miles from Heathrow and on the direct landing path for their planes. At first it is strangely disquieting hearing the roar of a jumbo engines every 40 seconds that it is most noticeable when there is a few minutes lull in the traffic. Mum and I found it fascinating as we sat eating our picnic lunch watching the planes overhead, we were amazed by the size of some of them as they flew very low. At one point mum exclaimed "Oh my goodness I can almost shake hands with the pilot." as one of the largest planes passed over us at an extremely low height. However as we moved further into the gardens the sound began to quieten and the placid and tranquil sound of the birds, wind and rustle of trees took over.
THE PALM HOUSEThis was one of the first building we visited while waiting for the Kew Explorer. The Palm house is found near Victoria Gate is a must to see. Built in the late 1840's this Victorian glass and iron structure has a peculiar shape, it has been likened to the bottom hull of a ship that is because of the rounded form.
When you first look at it the glass looks grey and dirty but this is misleading as it is the density of the palm foliage behind the windows that makes it look so dark.
On entering the building you notice the sudden change in the air density it becomes like that of a tropical forest, warm, humid and a little claustrophobic at first but as you move around the palm beds you occasionally catch the spray of the moisture from the overhead water sprays. The beds are divided into continents around the building showing some of the largest palms and ferns in the world including the peach palm, coconut palm and the fast growing queen palm. There were palms and plants of coffee, pepper, cocoa banana and palm oil and the Madagascar periwinkle which is used medicinally in anti leukaemia drugs. But the most unusual and most surprising was the Coco de mer seed or double coconut, from the Seychelles and Maldives. It is the largest seed in the world weighing around 16 kg, not to mention the most obscene or amusing depending on your point of view. When I first saw it my chin almost hit the floor, I was gob smacked but mum… stood there laughing heartily finding it so funny. Why I hear you ask, well, the cocoa de mer seed looks like a disembodied buttocks with the top part of the thighs on one side and the other side, especially when shoots are growing… well, I will leave that to your imagination. (Cross my heart I am not telling fibs here.)
In the basement level of the palm house is the Marine display, however due to the gardeners moving plants and cleaning we were unable to gain access to this level. The guide book advised that in here is a "series of marine habitats" emphasising the importance of marine plants in ecology. There are 19 tanks containing fish, sea creatures, and samples of habitats such as coral reefs, salt marsh, mangrove swamps, and rocky shorelines.
THE TEMPERATE HOUSEThe Temperate house is not only Kew's largest ornamental glasshouse but the worlds too. Construction began on the wrought iron and glass building in 1860 but it took nearly 40 years for the full glasshouse to be completed. The building is strangely shaped which helps separate the plants inside geographically.
The central large rectangular wing is home to the Pacific, Australias, Americas and Economic plants and palms like the worlds largest indoor plant: The Chilean Wine Palm tree that is 52 feet high and still growing or the Tree Fern which has been found in fossil form dating from the Jurassic period. Kangaroos Paw, with its funny tiny yellow fuzzy flock like flowers that look like kangaroos paws.
There also is the date palm, tea Cinchona from which quinnine comes and many other citrus tress found in here
On each short end of the middle wing is an octagonal wing home to Tasmania & New Zealand in one side and South Africa & The Cape in the other. The King Protea plant with its sunflower sizes delicate pink flowers was found in the South African wing, in 1986 it flowered for the first time in 160 years.
Finally on each end is a smaller rectangle wing housing South East Asia, China and Japan and the other houses Africa and the Mediterranean. In here we found the rarest plant in kew, the Encephalartos Woodii from Natal is one of the few surviving specimens in the world and has a flower that looks like a yellow pine cone.
This is an impressive structure and some of the plants are amazing not only in the diversity but in their sheer size and beauty. The Temperate house is a must stop on the tour around Kew.
CHINESE PAGODAIn the far left hand corner from the main gate stands Kew's Chinese Pagoda. Built by Sir WIlliam Chambers in 1762 for Princess Augusta and styled after a Chinese Taa. The Pagoda is octagonal in shape and stands 10 storeys high at 163 feet. Each red brick storey tapers by 1 foot in diameter and topped by a projecting roof. Originally the roofs were covered with ceramic tiles and 80 gilded dragons but it is believed Geroge IV sold them to pay his debts.
We decided before hand that I would be the one to attempt the climb of 253 steps to the top of the pagoda. Mum knew she would have trouble with her arthritis after a couple of flights so she opted to sit on the grass with her cigarettes, a drink and the guide book and enjoy the wonderful Pagoda Vista while I did the hard work. And boy it sure was hard.
Inside was a staircase leading to each level with a window to look through. I was little more than half way up when I wished I hadn't bothered as there was nothing of interest inside and I was ready to drop. At the top when I finally reached it, out of breath and wobbly kneed I discovered a view across the gardens toward London with the Telephone Tower, The Gerkin, The London Eye, Canery Wharf and in the far distance Wembley stadium. But was it worth it? NO.
When I finally descended I found Mum relaxed but I need a good 10 minutes break. With a drink in hand I sat down and saw the Pagoda Vista flanked by trees and many people just walking by not bothering to go inside. I now wish I hadn't wasted 30 minutes and £3.50 on the climb.
QUEEN CHARLOTTES COTTAGE AND WOODLAND GROUNDSQueen's Cottage was built for Queen Charlotte around 1760 as a wedding present from George III The Royal family used it as a summer house. The building remained property of the crown until Queen Victoria gave it to Kew in her Jubilee year.
It is a quaint little building and I was looking forward very much to seeing the wall paintings of bamboo and a variety of flowers painted by one of the Royal Princesses but the cottage is only open at weekends in July and August. Ours was a mid week visit.
However this small building with a thatched roof is surrounded by 37 acres of woodland and meadow that is part of the conservation area concentrating on British species. The woods are filled with owls, blue tits, sparrow hawks and woodpeckers and plenty of British insects. Bluebells grow in abundance during early spring surrounding the oak, poplar, birch and Douglas fir trees.
Even in the summer the woodland is enchanting but I would love to see it in the spring and autumn.
CHILDRENS FACILITIESClimbers and Creepers is Britain's first interactive botanical play zone. Kew has created an interactive play zone especially for children aged 3-9,to make serious botany great fun for kids to teach them about plants and their relationships with animals and people. They can learn about the dangers insects face from carnivorous plants, and how do bees make honey.
Children can take part in an assortment of activities, including drop-in colouring and drawing sessions, sliding down a giant pitcher plant, spot-the-difference, or bug trails.
Some weekends during the summer holidays children can take part in the Horrible Science events. Where they can meet the author of the Horrible Science books, and see a special Horrible Science show. There are also interactive science sessions and games set around vicious vegetables, painful poisons, nasty nature and other Horrible Science books. There is also an outdoor play space 'Air Play' supported by Fairy Naturals
THE PRINCESS OF WALES CONSERVATORYOne of the newest and most complex glasshouses is the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Built in 1987 and opened by Princess Diana in commemoration of Princess Augusta who founded the gardens this glasshouse has ten different computer controlled environments ranging from tropics to arid desert and rainforest. Just walking through the building you move between temperatures that in one area is so humid its hard to breathe and in others so dry you are coughing with a dry throat. But the plants inside more than make up for a little discomfort.
In here we saw many more of the strange pitcher plants but far bigger than those in the water lily house there was a giant Amazonian waterlily that had grown too big for the other building with its lilypads over 7 feet wide. Cacti of all sizes and shapes, beautiful draperies of orchids, ferns, water hyacinth, carnivorous plants, insect traps, lithops, (living stones) and many more strange, exotic plants or economic plants like Aloe vera, myrrh, sisal and prickly pear banana, sugar cane, cassava and pineapple can be found in here.
One aspect of this glasshouse is the energy efficiency. The design itself with stepped and angled glass makes the most of solar energy. Sensors throughout report conditions of the zones and allows the computer to mist, ventilate, heat or cool the building with ease. Also beneath the conservatory are water tanks which collect rainwater for the ponds, pools and water features inside as well as the misting sprays.
One thing did stand out and that was the mural at one of the entrances. It was a painting of all the famous people who had made some mark or had some association with Kew.
Although this is a modern building it is not out of place and looks at home in its surround near the secluded garden and the rock garden water feature.
THE ICE HOUSEIn the heart of the Winter Garden lies the Ice House. Dating back to around the mid 1700s when ice could not be made during the summer months ice was harvested in the winter months from Kews lake and stored between layers of straw in the earth covered, brick lined, domed shaped Ice House. With the double thick insullation ice kept long enough to last through the summer. Truthfully this was disappointing as the ice house was dark, humid, and of very little interest. There was nothing in there but a soil covered floor. We had expected to see a little more perhaps examples of stored ice but the dome was empty.
SECLUDED GARDENOne of our favourite places was the secluded garden, hidden between the Princess of Wales conservatory and the main gates. Running through the garden is a little stream with a wooden bridge crossing it making it look enchanting and like a intimate cottage garden. Filled with water plants, and rushes surrounded by lavender, lots of lavender, roses, apple, pear, quince, foxtail and lilies, Japanese Iris and willow. A restful and pretty place to relax filled with floral scents, predominately the lavender not that mum minded as it is her favourite floral scent. Mum and I spent a marvellous 15 minutes break sat on the bench outside the small conservatory that housed what looked like orchids. Unfortunately there was a sign across the door barring entry that day but we could still see through the windows and the open doors the lovely flowers inside. IN the whole 15 minutes we rested we saw only one couple who like us had discovered this secluded little place. We were rather sad to leave this haven but there was still so much left to see.
RESTAURANTS, COFFEE SHOPS & GIFT SHOPSMum and I opted to take a picnic lunch with us on our day out and after seeing the menu prices in the restaurants we are glad we did. Picnics are welcomed at Kew there are even picnic areas in secluded wooded dells and are also allowed on any grassed area however they are not allowed in any of the Glass-houses or on planted areas and BBQ and garden furnature is not allowed . However Kew does offer four restaurants and coffee shops.
The Orangery serve seasonal dishes, freshly prepared main meals, pasta snacks and sandwiches drinks and cakes. There are also children's meals available. The Orangery is open from 10am until 4.30pm..
Victoria Gate Coffee Shop serve a wide range of speciality teas, and coffee, organic coffee and tea, freshly made sandwiches, scones and cakes baked on site
Take a break and try our wonderful at the Victoria Gate Coffee Shop. Enjoy and our specially made cakes. The coffee shop is open from 9.30am until 5.00pm
White Peaks you can dine alfresco here where it serves freshly cooked meals, including sausages, organic burgers, fries and children's meals, children's lunch-boxes, jacket potatoes, sandwiches, biscuits and freshly baked pastries.
White Peaks is open from 10.00am until 4.30pm
The Pavilion is a favourite little coffee and tea shop serving lunch and afternoon teas including salads and children's lunch boxes. Unfortunately we could not find any opening times information
There are also 2 gift shops at Kew. These are at Victoria Gate and White Peaks. They offer a wide range of merchandise including books, seeds, pens, bookmarks, sweets, biscuits, ornaments, and honey. There are also lots for children including colouring books and toys. However Mum and I did notice that the prices were a little more expensive than some of the other places we have visited selling the usual souvenir stuff you can find at any place of interest throughout the country but as I have mentioned before all proceeds go back into the conservation of the gardens. Mum did buy a 340g jar of Rain Forest Rata Honey which cost around £3.50 per jar. It has an unusual taste sort of like a spearmint honey with a faint medicinal aftertaste. The reason I know this is because Mum couldnt wait to try it and opened the jar to have a taste while we were there.
OTHER BUILDINGSThere are other buildings and areas within Kew that are of as great an importance as the gardens themselves. Unfortunately many of these places are not open to the public or are restricted but these buildings added to the gardens make the whole site of international horticultural importance.
The Jodrell Laboratory is where plant anatomy and other laboratory-based research is carried out.
School of Horticulture takes on students who for three years during their education, are paid to work alongside the experts at Kew which included planting, digging, mowing, moving plants as well as attending lectures and studying.
The Tropical Nursery Complex covers three areas. in the Nursery Glasshouses there are 1000s of plants are raised for research and exhibition. In the Quarantine Glasshouse plants collected from the wild are quarantined so that foreign pests or diseases can be removed. The Micro Propagation Unit is used for the conserving rare species of flowering plants and mosses.
The Sir Joseph Banks Centre for Economic Botany houses the Economic Botany Collections, of over 76,000 species of plants and samples of their products that are of economic importance to the world.
The Herbarium is home to over 7 million samples representing 98% of the total plant life on the planet collected over many years. Plants are also identified, classified and named here.
Kew's is home to one of the most important botanical reference libraries in the world containing more than half a million items, including books, botanical illustrations, photographs, letters and manuscripts, and maps.
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AFTERWORDKew is an experience, that although you may not have green fingers is one you can enjoy at any time during the year. I found visiting Kew to be relaxing, educating, soothing and peaceful and although by the end of the day my feet ached, by back was ready to give out and I was so tired, I felt unflustered and very clear headed.
Overall I would recommend Kew and although they are expensive, the work they do for botanical conservation is beyond comparison.
Thank you for reading
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