Kew at the British Museum blog

The plants have arrived - this time in the rain. This is probably the wettest install we have seen,  and although good for the plants it slows the job down considerably.

Rain, rain and more rain

We have now taken delivery of the woodland trees, some of these are giants, the largest being the silver maple (Acer saccharinum) which stands at 8 m tall! 

The large trees are slowly manoeuvred into position as per the planting plan for the woodland

The bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) was next off the lorry, again some of these are large trees and require the upmost care to ensure no damage occurs. The tree branches are tied together in transit to protect them from damage whilst they are transported to the landscape. It is important to remember to untie them especially with the tall trees, as accessing the the branches once they are standing is very difficult!

The team have a difficult job ensuring the trees are carefully moved into position without damaging the trees

The second day of deliveries saw the arrival of the carnivorous plants (1,000 of them!) delivered early in the morning on specially designed trolleys. These immediately start to fill the forecourt with green.

Pitcher plants mouths open for unsuspecting insects!

Last to arrive - again in the pouring rain - are the 3,000 prairie plants, which were sown in glasshouses in late November and grown especially for the Landscape.

Prairie plants ready for planting

These plants will provide a spectacular flower show, full of colour, once they are planted and become established. Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Echinacea and many grasses are included.

The Landscape opens next Thursday 10 May - fingers crossed the sun will come out for then!

- Steve -

More information

• Visit the North America Landscape at the British Museum
• Find out more about the star plants featuring in the Landscape

From Australia to North America

Once again we have taken to our conceptual aeroplane and this year flown across the world from Australia to North America. As usual we have set ourselves a daunting task, representing the flora and landscape of the United States and Canada in one of our favourite places: the West Lawn of the British Museum. This will be no mean feat!

Last year's Australia Landscape at the British Museum

Getting hold of the plants

Obtaining the plants for this new landscape has been a little less of a challenge than usual as most of those we have chosen are hardy in the UK. Having said that, getting hold of some of them isn’t quite as easy as you may think! For instance where do you find 1000 insect eating monsters (Sarracenia) that live in a wetland?

Pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) at Kew Gardens

And where do you get 6 m tall trees that can breathe underwater (Taxodium)?

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) at Kew Gardens

Luckily at Kew we know a few people who grow these fantastic plants here in the UK and we managed to order them early on in our planning stages. Many of our plants have been specially grown for us, such as those that will feature in the 'prairie' section of our Landscape: sweet grass (Hierochloe), coneflower (Echinacea) and the New England aster.

Some of the Canadian plants were tricky to find, such as the paper birch (Betula papyrifera).

Discovering the beauty of ‘fall’ colour

In November last year, Tony and I travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, to meet with the Arnold Arboretum staff and visit the ‘Garden in the Woods’, a native garden run by the New England Wildflower Society.

View of Boston from the top of St Peters hill, the highest point in the arboretum

Whilst we were there we took some time to experience the autumn or ‘fall’ colour. The trees in Boston change from greens to vibrant colours throughout the yellow and red spectrum creating a stunning visual feast.

Taking a cue from this landscape we have chosen, to name but a few, maples (Acers), tulip trees (Liriodendron), and ash (Fraxinus) to recreate our own ‘fall’ at the British Museum. We have agreed to leave the landscape in for a little longer than usual as the colours can be best enjoyed from mid-October to early November.

White ash (Fraxinus americana) at Kew Gardens showing 'fall' colour

Our next blog will be direct from the forecourt, as we greet the plants on their arrival. Fingers crossed for their safe delivery – and some good weather too!

- Steve and Tony -
 

More information

• Visit the North America Landscape at the British Museum
• Find out more about the carnivorous pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
• About the 2011 Australia Landscape at the British Museum 

Many of the plant species in the Australia Landscape have done well over the summer, with lots of new growth, flowers and fresh young foliage to be seen. At the moment the most colourful section is the desert, where the blooms contrast with the bright red sand that represents the famous 'red centre' of this huge continent.

View of the Australia Landscape

The dark maroon-red flowers of kangaroo paws and the golden-yellow, daisy flowers of Bracteantha dominate this part of the landscape, but amongst these can be seen a few glorious red blooms of Sturt's desert pea, Swainsona formosa, the floral emblem of South Australia, and the pussy tails, Ptilotus exaltatus, also known as pink mulla mulla, with their fluffy pink flower spikes. Both these species grow in the driest parts of Australia, so to see them blooming outside the British Museum in London is a real treat.

Left, Swainsona formosa and right, Ptilotus exaltatus, flowering in the desert zone

Away from the desert zone, colour can be seen beneath the lush plantings of eastern Australian trees and shrubs, particularly the blue flowers of the Swan River daisy, Brachyscome, that line the paths. These have been flowering all summer long.

The blue flowers of the Swan River daisy

Bottle brushes (Callistemon) and silky oak (Grevillea) are among the shrubs still flowering and Grevillea robusta is doing very well, with several orange-red, spidery flower heads on display.

The silky oak, Grevillea robusta, in flower

After a difficult dry start to the season in April and May, the majority of the plants in the Australia Landscape have settled in well and many have put on lots of new growth, including the Wollemi pine and Acacia baileyana. Even the subtropical bangalow palm, Archontophoenix  alexandrae, has sent out new leaves.

Amongst the eastern Australian plants is the bangalow palm, Archontophoenix alexandrae

Kew at the British Museum is open until 16 October so there is plenty of time to visit this piece of Australia in the middle of London and see these plants for yourself.

- Richard -

As project manager of the Australia Landscape it is very exciting for me to see the Landscape change throughout the year, especially at the beginning as the plants begin to ‘find their feet’ (or roots) and grow and flower as they usually would in the Australian bush.
 

Bottlebrush in Australia Landscape
 

If you have walked across the Museum forecourt recently, you may have noticed the bright red bottle brushes are flowering at the eastern end of the Australia Landscape. As you wander through the Landscape you can’t miss the Grevillea flowers and the striking pinks, purples and yellows of the everlasting daisies which, as their name suggests, will be in flower throughout the Australian season. The hakea is flowering in Tasmania, and the buds on the wonga wonga promise to burst into stunning flower any day now.

Everlasting daisies in the Australia Landscape
 

Some of the eucalypts have struggled following their transplantation and due to strong winds and sun over Easter, but if you look closely you can see lots of light green new growth which has sprouted as they begin to settle in to their new home. To ensure the Landscape continues to thrive, it receives regular attention from experienced Kew staff, and a team of British Museum staff have also volunteered to spend time maintaining and monitoring the Landscape following a crash course in horticulture from Kew.
 

Wollemi pine in the Australia Landscape
 

The most successful plant in the Landscape so far seems to be the Wollemi pine. It seems London’s April climate suits this plant (believed extinct until it discovered in the bush near Sydney in 1994), as they have grown about 20 cm since being planted at the beginning of April. If you’re in London you should drop in and see the plants grow and change throughout the season.
 

Bloomsbury fox paw prints next to the Sturt's desert peas
 

If you visit early in the day you may also see evidence of the ‘Bloomsbury dingo’ (aka a fox) who seems to have taken an interest (hopefully not a culinary one) in the Sturt’s desert peas. Other wildlife to be seen include a number honey bees buzzing around the paperbarks.

- Philippa -

The final touches are now being made to the granite outcrop; the base colour is sprayed on and intricate details are applied, such as lichens and subtle variations in the composition of the rock surface emulating the weathering of the granite.
 

Applying fine detail to the granite outcrop

The finished rock looks remarkably realistic and once the plants are placed and planted, the outcrop begins to look just like the Inselberg landscapes of Western Australia witnessed first hand back in January.
 

The rockwork nears completion, while in the foreground evergreen kangaroo paws (Anigozanthos flavida) are planted

Meanwhile, with the larger trees and shrubs in place the smaller specimens are planted around them to form the thicket of diverse species characteristic of the Australian flora. Bottlebrushes (Callistemon) and spider flowers (Grevillea) are among the plants that make up the fabric of the landscape.
 

The Kew team getting stuck in!

In addition, around 2000 flowering bedding plants arrive, including Swan River daisies (Brachyscome) and, rarely seen in the UK, desert everlastings (Rhodanthe), to be interwoven throughout the display. Some have been specially grown from seed for the landscape, such as Sturt’s desert pea (Swainsona formosa), an inhabitant of Australia’s red centre and one of the star plants highlighted on the information panels.
 

Swan River daisies delivered to the site, ready for planting

Once all the plants are in, the soil is mulched, providing a high quality finish to the planting beds, as well as suppressing weeds and conserving moisture in the soil. Different mulches are used for the varying habitats represented, including red sand to indicate the dramatic, inhospitable desert of Australia. The final task is surfacing the path, ready for the opening this week.

- Steve & Richard -