Kew Gardens - World's Biggest Botanical Garden
One of London's Most Popular Attractions for the Whole Family
Nov 7, 2009
The proper name for Kew Gardens is The Royal Botanic Gardens but it is usually known as Kew Gardens. Here is the largest collection of plants in the world. The gardens are "Royal" because for many years the estates from which they were formed were owned by members of Britain's royal family.
Kew Gardens - How They Began
The first documented evidence of Kew was in 1313 when it was a tiny village of just a few houses. Four hundred or so years later Princess Augusta, who was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, laid out the first nine acres of gardens and they flourished during the reign of her son, King George the Third. The famous botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who was a close friend of the king, is largly responsible along with the Head Gardener, for laying the foundation for the superb collection that exists today.
In 1759 the first botanic garden at Kew was established and, as time went by, European botanic gardens became increasingly involved with expanding empires and colonial exploration. Britain was busy seeking new colonies and seeds and plants were sent back to the gardens from all over the world.
The beginning of the 19th-century saw a huge expansion of Kew Gardens. The famous glasshouses, the Palm House and the Temperate House, were built; the National Arboretum was laid out and the Herbarium collection was founded. Scientific research expanded enormously and Kew became known around the world.
Today, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is one of the world's leading botanic gardens, holding over 1 in 8 of all known plant species
What to Do at Kew Gardens
The gardens cover a huge area, 300 acres. You can spend a whole day here and hardly scratch the surface. Below is are some of the most popular things to do.
The Palm House
There are six magnificent glasshouses in all. The Palm House is the largest existing glasshouse in the world. Its focus is on tropical rainforest habitat and It holds the biggest plants grown indoor in the world.
The Temperate House is another 19th-century stunner. It is stuffed with plants from just about every temperate zone in the world, including several endangered island species that are being propagated for reintroduction.
The Chinese Pagoda. When it was built in1761 the Pagoda was the tallest Chinese building in Europe This was a time when anything Chinese was a novelty and people flocked to see it. It was designed by an English architect and is over 50 feet high. Visitors can climb the 253 stairs to the top for a panoramic view.
Treetop Walk.In May 2008 Kew Gardens opened its treetop walkway. Designed by the same architects behind the building of the London Eye, it offers a fantastic view of the London skyline as well as the beautiful 19th-century glasshouses. Treetop walkers pass through an underground exhibit on tree roots before climbing the winding stairs (180 steps), or taking a lift to the platform from which there is a birds-eye view of the vast 300 acres of Kew, as well as the London skyline.
The 656 ft walkway through the treetops of chestnuts planted in the 18th-century by Lancelot “Capability” Brown, the famous landscape gardener.
Kew Gardens for Kids. There are many things for kids to enjoy at Kew Gardens - from exploring trails to the UK's first Interactive Botanical Play Zone and the recently-built Treetop Walk.
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