The vision behind Kew’s new adventure play garden
What’s the best way to attract more youngsters to heritage sites and gardens? Put in a showstopper playground, of course. This spring Kew Gardens unveils its Children’s Garden: an ambitious £2.7m project, four years in the planning, to turn a hectare of land – the size of 40 tennis courts – into an outdoor adventure play area full of trees, rope swings, log scrambles and water fun.
“We didn’t want a playground with plants, but a garden full of interesting and inspiring play things where children can make exciting new discoveries around every corner,” says RBG Kew garden designer Richard Wilford, who has been working to get the new creation up and ready for its opening on May 18.
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RICHARD WILFORD
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Themed around the essentials for plant growth – earth, air, water and sun – the design centres on an aerial walkway four metres above the ground, built around a 200-year-old oak tree. In the Earth Garden, there’s a giant sandpit with tunnel slides and a play hut surrounded by bamboo plants, while the Air Garden features winding paths, giant windmill flowers, trampolines, hammocks, swings and a mini amphitheatre in the shade of Kew’s oldest eucalyptus trees.
The Sun Garden is a large open space with intricate pergolas, festooned with edible plants, and in the Water Garden (sponsored by Thames Water), kids can use the pumps to control the flow of water between splash pools. Finally, for the older and more adventurous (the garden is aimed at 2-12s), there’s a five-metre leaning tower with logs and ropes to climb, tucked away among the pine trees.
With over 100 mature trees already on the site – so many precious ‘old giants’ that all the pathways had to be built above ground for fear of damaging roots – and 65 semi-mature new trees, the Children’s Garden has a distinct woodland feel, with lots of places to hide and run free.
“It’s not overtly educational,” says Richard. “The aim is to make it varied and exciting; for kids to use their own imaginations and see the fun of playing outdoors. The best playgrounds are where children make their own discoveries and things aren’t too obvious – our swings and slides are tucked away or part of something else. The more room for interpretation, the better.”
RBG Kew’s Children’s Garden opens on May 18. Entry is free with Kew admission price. Visit: kew.org
