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Path: Photos > England > London and Around > Kew Gardens and Palace
Tags: UK  England  London

Kew Gardens and Palace

 

(vero;2020-June-20)

Kew Gardens are part of the Royal Botanic Gardens and home to the “largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world”. We visited Kew in September 2013 on a quite cloudy day, fortunately the flowers made up for the grey skies.

The Palm House was constructed in 1844 by Richard Turner according to Decimus Burton’s designs. It was the first glasshouse built on this scale.
As expected in a palm house, there are palms all over the place. Green plant curtains in the Palm House. Wrought iron and glass are the main construction materials used in the Palm House. Read this interesting article for technical details about the structure. Elegant curves of the wrought iron arches. Vegetable parterre in front of the Palm House. Vegetable parterre in front of the Palm House. Inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory which houses ten micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the vegetation composed of dry/wet tropical plants. On display are significant numbers of orchids, water lilies, lithops, cacti, and carnivorous plants housed in the various zones. The plant on this picture is from the Aizoaceae family (common name: Living Stone). It is called Conophytum minutum and is native to central and western South Africa and Namibia. Another plant from the Aizoaceae family (common name: Living Stone). This one is a Pleiospilos bolusii, native to mountains of the Western Cape of South Africa where it receives sparse rainfall, mainly in late Spring and Autumn. The Echinopsis spachiana, commonly known as the white torch is a species of cactus native to South America. Another Echinopsis spachiana. Unfortunately I could not identify this plant. I am pretty sure though that this is a carnivorous one. Any suggestion welcome. This one is easy, it is a Water Lily. Passiflora, also called Passion Flower. Phalaenopsis Orchid, also called Moth Orchid. Anthurium Andraeanum, also called Flamingo Flower. Green is the colour… This one looks familiar but I do not know its name. Fragile and elegant. Another Beautiful Unknown. Well, this is obviously a cactus. In fact this is an Echinocereus, also called hedgehog cactus. Kew Palace was originally built in 1631 as a fashionable mansion for Samuel Fortrey, a wealthy London silk merchant. George II (r 1727-60) and Queen Caroline used it as a lodging for their three eldest daughters and after them several generations of Georgian royalty used Kew as a week-end retreat from the busy London life. King George III particularly left his mark, as he lived and died there after a long mental illness. The site of the Historic Royal Palaces has an interesting section about the history of the place. The dining room in Kew Palace. The portrait over the fireplace represents Van Dick by Giuseppe Nogari. Tableware made of gold on display at Kew Palace. Spot the photographer in the reflection. A golden cup with the royal initials GR. The heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales (called Prince of Wales' feathers) adorning a golden plate. It consists of three white ostrich feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the motto “Ich dien” (German for “I serve”). The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom adorning a golden saucepan with the Prince of Wales' motto below. George Rex. Exterior view of Kew Palace. Kew Palace and its numerous chimneys, one for each room. Columbus breaking the Egg: 1752 engraving by English artist William Hogarth (1697-1764). Issued as a subscription ticket for his treatise on art, “The Analysis of Beauty”, it depicts an apocryphal tale concerning Christopher Columbus's response to detractors of his discovery of the New World. Hogarth uses the story as a parallel to what he considered his own discoveries in art. The Death of the Countess: final plate of a series of six etchings by English engraver and painter William Hogarth (1697-1764). Theme is: Marriage à la Mode and the sixth plate shows the disastrous results of an ill-considered marriage contracted for money or social status reasons.

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$ updated from: London and Around.htxt Sun 24 May 2026 15:57:34 trvl2 — Copyright © 2026 Vero and Thomas Lauer unless otherwise stated | All rights reserved $