I recently had my mother come to stay with me, and as we were planning our weekend together, she said she would really like to go to Kew Gardens. My mum is a very keen gardener, and she is always keen to go and explore gardens to garner more ideas for her own. I have to say, I rather dragged my heels, and as a dutiful daughter I took her there with Josh, my son. However, I absolutely loved it. This time, we only explored a little, but we were certainly be back for more. Here are three things that we loved.
The Hive
The Hive is an art installation by Wolfgang Buttress. It’s 17 metres tall, constructed from 170,000 aluminium parts, 1,000 LED lights. The pure sight of it is breathtaking, but then when you walk up to it and into it, it suddenly becomes an awesome immersive experience: An arrangement of music that sound like bees plays and LED lights flash, which are both triggered by the activity of a real, nearby hive.
A guide was on hand to give us more information on The Hive and also more information on why it is so important for the conservation of bees, and what we can do to help save bees in our back garden.
The Great Broad Walk Borders
My mother, the keen gardener, really wanted to go to Kew to see The Great Broad Walk Borders, which apparently is the longest herbaceous border! The whole 320 metres of them are a complete visual delight. The colour coordination of the plants is simply breathtaking, and enough for you to reach for your camera to start getting shots for your Instagram feed. I appreciate a good garden, but these borders blew me away.
The Treetop walk
My son decided that he’d really like to go and have a look at this, so to keep all parties happy, we agreed! This is quite a unique attraction, and you climb the stairs (or take the lift) to a walkway 18 metres high. Not only are you in amongst the tall trees to spot wildlife such as woodpeckers, you also get a perfect view over Kew Gardens. A truly great experience, it even wobbles a little in the wind!
We only touched the surface, and there is so much more to see at Kew: You can easily while away a long day at Kew. I would love to know if you have visited and which parts you really liked.
PIN FOR LATER
