The
Kew site is staggeringly vast, covering some 300 acres and containing
glasshouses, lakes, laboratories and one of the largest compost heaps in
Europe. Compared to the 10.5 acres of dear old Hidcote, it is all rather mind-boggling!
The garden areas are mostly focused upon displaying the extensive collections
of plants here, with an alpine garden, a winter garden, rhododendron dell, 17th
century-style formal garden, rose garden and a whopping great arboretum that I
keep finding myself lost in! The gardens were founded in 1759, but borne out of
the Kew Park estate; lands owned in the 17th century by gentrified eggs
who happened to be keen gardeners. This horticultural use of the land was continued
by the royals who moved in later, with the botanical gardens starting up proper
when Princess Augusta ordered the construction of a ‘physic garden’, for the
display of “all the plants known on Earth”. 250-odd years later Kew is still
offering up the best of the world’s flora, and I’m intending to share that with
you here over the course of the next three years.
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| Kew
Palace is the oldest building on the site, built in 1631. It is maintained
independently by Historic Royal Palaces |
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| The
water lilies are one of the key attractions at Kew, with these huge leaf pads
forming from plants grown by seed each year! The Waterlily House obviously
houses some of these imposing chaps, but also the Princess of Wales
Conservatory as seen here |
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| The
Grass Garden has been one of the real high points since I clambered aboard HMS Kew.
Stipa ichu can be seen here flapping in the wind |
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| The
Palm House is Kew’s most iconic feature, but the peacocks that roam the gardens
do an excellent job of stealing the show! |
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| The
size of the glasshouses is phenomenal, with the Temperate House easily harbouring
150-year old palms |
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| Phoenix
canariensis is one of the many huge palms seen inside |
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| There
are quite a few follies and ancient-looking temples about the place, but this
one peering out over the Mediterranean Garden is the most beautiful |
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| Mercifully,
there are a few areas of herbaceous planting in the garden. The Duke’s Garden
is one such area, and rest assured I will be following the action in here
closely! |
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| The
scale of the place is enormous, typified here by the main lake with its river-like
dimensions |
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| The
weird and the wonderful all reside at Kew! This is Strophanthus preussii,
native to tropical Africa. Plenty more of this tropics mayhem to follow! |
