Tag Archives: Kew Gardens
Xylobium and the orchid house
For anyone who’s done the A to Z Challenge before will know that X requires considerable thought and creativity. Thankfully, the world of botany provides some useful Xs. Today I introduce Xylobium, a genus of the orchidaceae family. There are 35 species and it is native to the tropical Americas. Here’s a picture. Orchideceae, or […]
Orangeries bearing fruit
The Versailles Orangerie was built between 1684 and 1686, before the palace was even begun. It housed a thousand trees in boxes, mostly citrus trees, but also olives, oleanders and palms. From May to October the plants were moved out into Parterre Bas to bask in the sunshine. (Imagine the effort carrying those trees in […]
Kew Gardens – botany goes big
In 2003 Kew Gardens, located in the borough of Richmond-on-Thames, was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Better late than never, is all I can say. Once called Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, there has been gardens on the site since the 16th Century. That plural is due to the merging of two main gardens – […]
