Kew Royal Botanic Gardens is a world-famous botanical garden in Kew, London, home to an extensive collection of plants, historic glasshouses, and scientific research facilities. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a center for conservation and botanical studies.
I have been visiting Kew for almost 20 years and I am always impressed by its ability to constantly reinvent itself. With more than 250 years of history spread over 300 acres of grounds, Kew faces an arduous task looking after all of its existing buildings and plants, some of which are endangered, while also keeping an eye out for project and festival ideas which will engage both old and new users of the Gardens. Where else can you discover one of the oldest pot plants in the world (a Jurassic cycad) and award-winning installation, the Hive (above), by artist Wolfgang Buttress within 10 minutes’ walk of each other? Art, horticulture, history and science: it’s all here on our doorstep.
