Kew Royal Botanic Gardens

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in London, England, and is one of the largest and most diverse botanical gardens in the world, with connections to Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and New York Botanical Garden. The gardens are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The gardens have a long history of collaboration with other institutions, including the Natural History Museum, London and the Royal Horticultural Society. The gardens are also home to the Millennium Seed Bank, a partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh and the Missouri Botanical Garden.

● History

The history of the gardens dates back to the 16th century, when they were a physic garden for St Thomas' Hospital, founded by Henry VIII. The gardens were later expanded by Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the mother of King George III, who was a patron of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks. The gardens became a popular destination for botanists and naturalists, including Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, who were influenced by the work of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. The gardens have also been associated with the Kew Guild, a horticultural organization founded by William Hooker and Joseph Dalton Hooker.

● Gardens and Glasshouses

The gardens cover an area of 121 acres and feature a variety of plant species, including tropical plants from Borneo and Madagascar, as well as temperate plants from Europe and North America. The gardens are home to several glasshouses, including the Palm House and the Temperate House, which were designed by Decimus Burton and Richard Turner. The gardens also feature a rock garden and a Japanese garden, designed by Isabella Stewart Gardner and Gertrude Jekyll. The gardens have been influenced by the work of André Le Nôtre and Lancelot Brown, and have been visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

● Conservation Efforts

The gardens are involved in a variety of conservation efforts, including the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, which aims to conserve the seeds of plant species from around the world, in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney and the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The gardens are also home to the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre, which works to conserve the flora and fauna of Madagascar, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The gardens have also been involved in the conservation of orchids and bromeliads, in collaboration with the Orchid Society and the Bromeliad Society.

● Research and Education

The gardens are a center for botanical research and education, with a variety of programs and courses available, including the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and the Kew Certificate in Plant Conservation. The gardens are also home to the Jodrell Laboratory, which is involved in research on plant systematics and evolution, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The gardens have a long history of collaboration with other institutions, including the British Museum and the Linnean Society of London, and have been visited by Charles Robert Darwin and Gregor Mendel.

● Visitor Information

The gardens are open to the public and attract over 1 million visitors each year, including tourists from Australia and Japan. The gardens offer a variety of activities and events, including guided tours and workshops, in collaboration with the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the Surrey County Council. The gardens are also home to several restaurants and cafes, including the Orangery and the Pavilion Restaurant, which offer a range of cuisine from France and Italy.

● Collections and Exhibitions

The gardens have a vast collection of plant species, including over 30,000 different species of plants, with connections to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne and the Adelaide Botanic Garden. The gardens also have a variety of exhibitions and displays, including the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art, which features botanical art from around the world, including works by Pierre-Joseph Redouté and Walter Hood Fitch. The gardens have also hosted exhibitions on botanical history and horticulture, in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library. The gardens are also home to the Kew Herbarium, which is one of the largest and most comprehensive herbaria in the world, with connections to the Harvard University Herbaria and the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium.

Category:Botanical gardens