Reach a Peaceful Mind with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew!

The trips, focused on historical places, beaches, or war museums are the most famous ones, but there are many other interesting things you can experience while visiting a city. Let us give you a different kind of trip plan: focusing on the plants and ecology. Plants, flowers, and trees are always around us, so they have become little details that do not get our attention at all, thus they might not seem interesting to you; however, their world is one of the most amazing and thrilling once you get into it.

Moreover, we all must admit their benefits to nature, atmosphere, and human psychology with their visage and scent. When people feel depressed or overwhelmed, they go for a walk in a park. Well, imagine going for a walk in a huge park, in one of the biggest botanical gardens. We believe you would get rid of all stress and negativity in you, and feel featherlight in Kew Gardens, also known as the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew in London, which entered the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO in 2003. 

A Botanic Treasure Indeed…

It houses the largest and the most varied botanic aggregations in the world. Here you can see, perceive, listen, sniff, observe, and feel the green ecosystem. Considering many experts, botanists, and agriculturalists coming to attend conferences, you will also gain a lot of interesting information about this world. Kew Garden has a lot of structures, housing many kinds of flowers or trees, as well as galleries, museums, and plant collections. Also, there are some cafes and restaurants, where you can get a rest or drink something when you feel tired of walking. Shops sell both natural, nutritious food made from plants in the garden, and gifts to make you remember this precious experience or to make your loved ones happy and curious about this place. 

How a Trip to a Garden May Take Several Days?

Considering it is the biggest botanic garden in the world, it may not be nonsense for it to take more than one day to cover all around. The Royal Botanic Garden was established in the 18th century, and with time, many new structures have been built to meet the requirements. These structures include an early royal residence of Mary Tudor’s (Bloody Mary) house; Palm House which is the world’s most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure; Temperate House the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence; Treetop Walkway; Princess of Wales Conservatory which was opened by Princess Diana; Alpine House, Orangery; Waterlily House, containing a huge pond with miscellaneous species of water lily; Nash Conservatory, Australian House as a gift from Australian government; Bonsai House and other former plant houses which do not exist anymore. Besides, there is a Japanese Gateway; a tower called the Great Pagoda which is copying of Chinese structures; some temples, a library, and Kew Palace which is the smallest of British royal palaces. All these structures have a certain kind of ecosystem in themselves, thus, visiting Kew Gardens may take longer than you expect. 

Who First Came with the Idea of Building the Garden? 

First, we must make it clear that the person who made it never considered such a big and famous place. It was developed by the Prince of Wales, Frederick Louis, and his wife the Princess of Wales, who organized a garden for exotic plants in the 18th century. In ten years, it held more than 3400 plant species. In the 19th century, it became a centerfield for scientific study and the worldwide exchange of plant specimens. It is still important and improving in the plant industry. Hundreds of thousands of archived materials such as depictions, periodicals, replicas; collections of tropical plants and flowers are preserved here. In the Kew Gardens, the extinction of plants at risk is moderated. In 1974, the Kew Seed Bank was formed, which turned into the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership. It is the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. 

The Entrance: The Botanic Royal Gardens in Kew has four gates for visitors to enter. The main gate is the Elizabeth Gate, named after the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Others are Brantford Gate which faces the River Thames; Victoria Gate named after Queen Victoria; and the Lion Gate. The opening times of the garden may change due to seasons or days; however, generally, 10 A.M. is the opening and 4 A.M. is the closing time. It is located only half an hour from central London, and one can use rail, bus, or river transportation to come here.

Tip: If you are a summer or spring person, the best times for you to visit the place are May, June, or July. If you are an autumn person, you should come in August or September. Also, if you do not want to dive into the crowd, the best way is to visit early in the morning. 

Bonus! 

If you are interested in literature, we have a very successful short story to recommend which is Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf. She wrote various couples’ dialogues while visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens. A very short and inspiring story, about different lives and relationships of the people passing by. 

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/woolf/monday/monday-07.html 

Bonus!

You can watch a short video of Kew Gardens from bird-sight clicking this link: