Princess of Wales Conservatory
Taken in Kew Gardens
Commissioned in 1982 to replace a group of 26 smaller buildings that were falling into disrepair. It was named after Princess Augusta, founder of Kew, and opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales. It is the most complex conservatory at Kew, containing ten computer-controlled climatic zones under one roof.
The two main climate zones are the ‘dry tropics’, representing the world’s warm, arid areas, and the ‘wet tropics’, housing moisture loving plants from ecosystems such as rainforests and mangrove swamps. The eight remaining microclimates include a seasonally dry zone containing desert and savanna plants, plus sections for carnivorous plants, ferns and orchids.
Whereas the Palm and Temperate Houses make grand statements with their designs, the low-lying, angular ‘glazed hill’ of the Princess of Wales house is less obtrusive. The conservatory was designed by architect Gordon Wilson to be energy-efficient and easy to maintain and was built partly underground.
The southern end is heated more by the sun than the northern end, so this is where visitors find towering spikes of echiums and silver agaves from dry tropical regions such as the arid Canary Islands. The central area contains an elevated aquaria, complete with waterlily pond and the dangling roots of mangroves, plus displays of orchids and carnivorous plants. At the northern end are species from the moist tropics, including banana, pineapple, pepper and ginger.
[Kew website]
Kew Gardens (formally knowkn as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) consists of 121 hectares of gardens and glasshouses.
The gardens began as exotic gardens belonging to Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury in the latter half of the c17th. The gardens were extended and enlarged by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales (and mother of the future George III) who employed William Chambers to design various buildings. George III had William Aiton (1731-93) and Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) as directors of the botanical garden. The gardens were formally established as a national botanical garden in 1840.
Princess of Wales Conservatory
Taken in Kew Gardens
Commissioned in 1982 to replace a group of 26 smaller buildings that were falling into disrepair. It was named after Princess Augusta, founder of Kew, and opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales. It is the most complex conservatory at Kew, containing ten computer-controlled climatic zones under one roof.
The two main climate zones are the ‘dry tropics’, representing the world’s warm, arid areas, and the ‘wet tropics’, housing moisture loving plants from ecosystems such as rainforests and mangrove swamps. The eight remaining microclimates include a seasonally dry zone containing desert and savanna plants, plus sections for carnivorous plants, ferns and orchids.
Whereas the Palm and Temperate Houses make grand statements with their designs, the low-lying, angular ‘glazed hill’ of the Princess of Wales house is less obtrusive. The conservatory was designed by architect Gordon Wilson to be energy-efficient and easy to maintain and was built partly underground.
The southern end is heated more by the sun than the northern end, so this is where visitors find towering spikes of echiums and silver agaves from dry tropical regions such as the arid Canary Islands. The central area contains an elevated aquaria, complete with waterlily pond and the dangling roots of mangroves, plus displays of orchids and carnivorous plants. At the northern end are species from the moist tropics, including banana, pineapple, pepper and ginger.
[Kew website]
Kew Gardens (formally knowkn as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) consists of 121 hectares of gardens and glasshouses.
The gardens began as exotic gardens belonging to Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury in the latter half of the c17th. The gardens were extended and enlarged by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales (and mother of the future George III) who employed William Chambers to design various buildings. George III had William Aiton (1731-93) and Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) as directors of the botanical garden. The gardens were formally established as a national botanical garden in 1840.