Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew Gardens, London

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Kew Gardens were founded in 1759 by Augusta; princess of Wales. In 1840 these were donated to the nation. These gardens are also a botanical research center.

Today they cover an area of 300 acres and are home of thousands of species of plants from all over the world. Inside the gardens there are also some glasshouses and some buildings ( Queen's Charlotte Cottage, the Holland House., the Mariane North Gallery...).

The 300 acres of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew ("Kew Gardens") is more than just a repository of botanical life - it is also of historical significance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For most people, though, it is just a simply wonderful outdoor space to visit. There is easily enough to do/see here over several hours. The Gardens has two iconic glasshouses built in the mid 1800s - the Palm House and the Temperate House - as well as a 10-storey Chinese pagoda constructed in 1762. It has many themed sections, including the largest bamboo collection in Europe. The garden and gift shop is also excellent. Admission cost GBP12.25 for adults and free for children under 17 years (2007 prices).

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Kew Gardens is great place to visit if you like plants and gardens, otherwise, it's boring. There are a few indoor areas (glass houses) where you can stroll even when the weather isn't that great outdoors. The whole area covers over 300 acres and there are several different areas such as the Japanese, Mediterranean, bamboo, rock, rose, aquatic, azalea gardens.. One of the oldest green houses has tall banana plants and palm trees, hence it's called the Palm House. It is a rather tall building and it is over 160 years old, from the Victorian period.

Kew Gardens was inscribed on the Unesco list of World Heritage Sites in 2003.

Admission is pricey. Even before the closing time of the glass houses they still charge over £10.

Opening times vary. Usually it opens at 9.30am and closes before dusk. Check the website for more details.

One of Britain's UNESCO World Heritage sites (since 2003), the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew still doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. The village of Kew developed when Henry VII built his palace at nearby Richmond and it needed services for all the new noble visitors sailing here, and it was in the 17th century that it started to take off with the grand landscape designing of the time and nobility and others aquiring various plots of land. One of these plots was owned by a Flemish immigrant who built what was to become known as the Dutch House, today Kew Palace, with a distinct Dutch architecture. It is a popular palace to visit when seeing Kew itself and was once the home of King George III and Queen Charlotte.

There has been a botanical garden at Kew since 1759 and a major reason for its success and international fame is of course Britain's history with an empire stretching around the World so that exotic plants were always brought back to London and gathered the best scientists. Even today, new things keeps coming in and there is a huge seed bank and various theme events. There is an awful lot of material about Kew's history and collections on the website below where you can also see what's going on at the time of your visit. I love just strolling around, popping into various greenhouses and looking at huge palms or odd orchids with the most bizarre forms.

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Kew Gardens is a beautiful place. It consists of formal gardens, manicured lawns and botanical greenhouses.

One of the main attractions is the Palm House, a metal and glass greenhouse filled with tropical plants.

Each year in spring they have an orchid festival, which is well worth a look.

This is a fabulous place for all the family. Visit in spring to see all of the flowering bulbs all over the gardens.

In summer there are concerts and in winter they have an ice rink.

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After viewing Kew Palace, we hopped onto the little train that takes you around the Gardens.. we didn’t have much time here (only an afternoon), so thought this would be the best way to view it.

It was super, except for the fact we had VERY noisy and disruptive kids behind us the whole trip. We battled to hear the commentary as a result. It cost us £3.50 each.

We saw a lot though and will go back and bring a picnic and do it properly. There are 300 acres to see after all!

The gardens are a mix of order and wildness it seems to me. They have formal landscaped sections, green houses and less cultivated areas.

The Chinese pagoda reaches high into the sky and is Kew’s most recognisable feature.

Something that piqued my fancy was the Grass Garden. I have a deep love and fascination of paper, enjoy making it and using it to create. Inside the garden there are over 600 varieties of grasses from all over the world.

Next door is the Wood House, where they explain how to make paper and its origins. All very interesting!

On the little train we also drove quite close to the Thames River, where we could see people walking, playing ball and cycling. We think a picnic would go down well there! So, we will be back in summer!

There are various entrances into Kew Gardens. We went in through the ornate gates on the Kew side.

The queues were long (It was Easter Sunday, apparently the BUSIEST day of the year for them) We queued outside for 40 minutes, then went in.

First stop, Kew Palace!

Kew Palace is absolutely beautiful. Stunning. Three floors have been opened to the public again after 10 years, after extensive renovation work.

It was built in 1631 and is where Queen Charlotte and their family lived. She loved it. She died in the house, in a chair.

This gives you an intimate glimpse into the Royal lives that once lived and loved here.

Entrance is £5 for adults and £3 for kids.

It is a large garden (of 112 ectars if I'm right) of land, with many amazing plants, there exists 1/8 of all world's spieces of plants.
You can have a picnic with friends, family or others.

Take the train tour if you want to go around the whole garden without being exhausted, you can even get on the train, get down at any stop, relax or have a picnic and than get again on train to continue the tour.