During my winter visit I didn’t have the chance to visit the Temperate House at Kew Gardens, but I’m so glad I came back in July 2023! This impressive greenhouse is huge and contains 1,500 species from Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Africa.
Since most of us humans live in temperate zones, many of the plant species in the Temperate House are rare and risk extinction in the wild. Kew Gardens play an important role in the conservation of these species.
Temperate House in photographs
Victorian
The Temperate House at Kew Gardens was designed by English architect Decimus Burton and Irish iron-founder Richard Turner. Construction began in 1860 and was completed in 1899; it was restored in 2013-2014.
The Temperate House is the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse in the world, twice the size of the Palm House, which was designed by the same two men as the Temperate House.
Video
Watch the 3,5 minute video of the Temperate House. Your personal guide is expert Kew horticulturalist David Cook:
All photos by Ivonne Smit, July 2023, except top photo which was taken in December 2022.
