Temperate Kew View
Looking down on the plants growing inside the Temperate House at Kew from the elevated walkway.
The Temperate House is the largest of the Victorian glasshouses at Kew, and the biggest Victorian glass structure in the world.
The glasshouse covers 4,880 square metres and was designed by Decimus Burton in 1859. Work began the following year, but was not completed until 1898 after the scheme ran well over the initial £10,000 budget.
Made up of a large central house, and two small octagons linking it to two other glasshouses, it is one of 38 listed buildings at Kew.
The planting zones inside the glasshouse are in the same design as Burton's original plan, though they cover more regions. Among the zones are South Africa, the Americas and Asia.
The plant collection inside includes a 16-metre high Chilean wine palm - the largest indoor plant in the world, as well as endangered species from St Helena and Rodrigues Island.
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew cover more than 300 acres of land just south of the River Thames, with 33,000 species of plants and trees growing in plantations and glasshouses.
The gardens were created as a pleasure garden by Prince Frederick – eldest son of George II and Queen Caroline – in 1731, but were turned into botanic gardens by his widow Princess Augusta in 1759.
Some of the earliest specimens in the gardens came from the voyages of Captain Cook around the globe and Kew has grown in importance and popularity ever since.
There are a number of large glasshouses recreating environments from all over the world, while the outside gardens are often vast open expanses, broken up by Japanese pagodas, small lakes and walkways high in the trees.
Temperate Kew View
Looking down on the plants growing inside the Temperate House at Kew from the elevated walkway.
The Temperate House is the largest of the Victorian glasshouses at Kew, and the biggest Victorian glass structure in the world.
The glasshouse covers 4,880 square metres and was designed by Decimus Burton in 1859. Work began the following year, but was not completed until 1898 after the scheme ran well over the initial £10,000 budget.
Made up of a large central house, and two small octagons linking it to two other glasshouses, it is one of 38 listed buildings at Kew.
The planting zones inside the glasshouse are in the same design as Burton's original plan, though they cover more regions. Among the zones are South Africa, the Americas and Asia.
The plant collection inside includes a 16-metre high Chilean wine palm - the largest indoor plant in the world, as well as endangered species from St Helena and Rodrigues Island.
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew cover more than 300 acres of land just south of the River Thames, with 33,000 species of plants and trees growing in plantations and glasshouses.
The gardens were created as a pleasure garden by Prince Frederick – eldest son of George II and Queen Caroline – in 1731, but were turned into botanic gardens by his widow Princess Augusta in 1759.
Some of the earliest specimens in the gardens came from the voyages of Captain Cook around the globe and Kew has grown in importance and popularity ever since.
There are a number of large glasshouses recreating environments from all over the world, while the outside gardens are often vast open expanses, broken up by Japanese pagodas, small lakes and walkways high in the trees.