L I V E 2 4 -SE V EN
THROUGH THE GA RDEN GAT E KEW
This month our media horticulturalist, Camilla Bassett-Smith, celebrates the return of a world-class wonder…
Mention Kew and there are two images firmly planted in my thoughts: the first is of the most sought after 50 pence piece design in circulation and the second (and arguably should have come first, were it not for my recent coin obsession) is the home of horticulture and surely the greatest place for plants on this planet.
Last month, almost five years after closing its many ornate doors and windows, the Temperate House at Kew revealed its gleaming new paint and perfect planting and was opened by Sir David Attenborough, ready for botanic business. This £41 million restoration project has brought back to life the world’s largest surviving Victorian glasshouse, originally opened in 1863. Its first restoration came about between 1977 and 1982, but at that time I was more interested in a Farley’s Rusk than a feather-leaved banksia! Today, the eyes of the world are on this fantastic structure and the treasures it houses and the feet of the world are moving swiftly in its direction, be it over sea, mountain or eastwards on the M4.
Kew’s partnership with plants started way back in the 1700s, when it was in royal ownership. Princess Augusta wanted a collection that would, according to her friend and namesake of that famous Pelargonium, Lord Bute: “…contain all the plants known on earth”. In 1840 the estate was gifted to the public and from that point onwards, with William Hooker as the first director and William Nesfield employed as landscape designer, this plantsman’s paradise took shape.
Now a World Heritage Site, the Temperate House sits at the heart of this extravaganza, on a raised terrace, compiled of gravel and sand excavated from Kew’s lake during the first stage of construction. Before you even enter inside the 4,880m2 of design a feeling of majesty and marvel envelopes your mind under the watchful eye of 116 decorative exterior urns.
This whole structure is a beacon to not only Victorian engineering, but to our current day ability to restore and preserve at the highest level; 5,280 litres of paint have been applied and 15,000 panes of glass replaced (and you thought your Bank Holiday trolley at B&Q was full!).
However, it’s the roots and shoots that are the real pull here, with 10,000 plants having been re-planted in the Temperate House, which showcases examples from five
© RBG Kew
© Gareth Gardner
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