Kew Gardens

A world class botanical collection (the largest and most diverse in the world) situated across 300 acres of lush west London. There are eight glass houses, each housing an array of plants not suited to the mild, wet climate of the UK and a visit to the greenhouses tops off any day at Kew, transporting you to the middle of a tropical forest with fish lolling in ponds or a desert biome where cactus grow as tall as a person.

History

Founded in 1840 Kew is a botanical gem of incredibly rare quality. It's library contains over 750,000 volumes, a collection of botanical illustrations numbers 175,000 and the plant collection has over 30,000 live species and seven million preserved samples. It is indeed one of the world's most valuable and important botanical resources. There are many buildings and houses inside Kews sprawling grounds and gardens; pagodas, pavillions, lakes with fountains and it's all open to the public who visit in vast numbers. Although it never feels crowded.

A small collection

Here is a small collection of my photographs of the glass house interiors at Kew. My favourite places to visit and housing some of the plants which interest me the most, including the waterlilies and the cactus / succulent collection.

• Flowering waterlily Princess of Wales glass house

• Vista through the rusty old doors looking down the avenue

• Inside the Temperate House at Kew Gardens

• Koi Carp Loll on the surface of one of the many ponds where the fish must imagine they live in the jungle

• These happy plants thrive in a mixed community of many well tended varieties

• Three Goldfish enjoy the pleasant temperatures and sunlight on a warm day

• Tree Ferns thousands of miles from their homes in the Southern Hemisphere growing tall inside the Temperate House