Kew Gardens, Botanical garden in Richmond, London, England.
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Richmond cover over 300 acres of green spaces with glasshouses, themed gardens and woodland paths. The grounds divide into several areas featuring different climate zones and plant collections from every continent.
The gardens grew from royal estates laid out during the 18th century and developed into a research center after the official founding in 1840. During the 19th century, plant samples from British colonies arrived and formed the basis for today's collection.
The gardens' name comes from the royal estate of Kew, and the Great Pagoda built by William Chambers in 1761 still stands as a garden structure. The Palm House, completed in 1848 by Decimus Burton and Richard Turner, was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron, with hand-blown glass panes.
The Victoria Gate entrance is about 500 metres from Kew Gardens station on the District Line and London Overground. The 132-hectare site holds 40 historically important buildings, so allow time to cross between the glasshouses and the arboretum. Sturdy footwear helps on wet paths.
Inside the glasshouses grow plants that have been tended since Victorian times and rank among Europe's oldest living collection specimens. Some palms in the Palm House were planted during the 1840s and survived two world wars and numerous restorations.
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