Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens or the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in the United Kingdom.UNESCO, "Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew"; retrieved 2012-4-20.

Kew’s historic landscapes and buildings are a collection of gardens and parks and glasshouses.Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew). About World Heritage Status ; retrieved 2012-4-20.

Kew has the world's largest collection of plant specimens, and is one of the most important centres of research in botany.

Kew Gardens are open to visitors who pay to enter.

History
Early work on the gardens started in the 17th century when King Henry VII built Richmond Lodge in the area. 16th & 17th Centuries: Royal Influences" ; retrieved 2012-4-20.

The land was a private royal garden until the Victorian era. In 1840, the Royal Botanic Garden was established.Kew, "Questions in Parliament 1837-1840" ; retrieved 2012-4-20.

The great expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century brought an expanded interest in exotic plants, so the gardens expanded.Kew,  "1841 - 1885: The expansion of the Royal Botanic Gardens" ; retrieved 2012-4-20.

In the 20th century, the gardens continued to grow larger and even more important in plant science.Kew,  "Unification and expansion of the Gardens" ; retrieved 2012-4-20.

The gardens were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

The Temperate glass house was fixed over 5 years. It opened again in 2018. 

Gallery

 Related pages 
List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom
List of botanical gardens

References

Other websites

 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew website 
 Millennium Seed Bank Project
 Images and some highlights of Kew
 BBC, Marianne North collection of plant paintings


Category:World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom
Category:Botanical gardens in the United Kingdom
Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames