Using your membership
Being a Friend of Kew offers you the opportunity to explore the world's finest botanic gardens throughout the year, and the reward of knowing that your support is helping us to maintain the gardens both at Kew and Wakehurst.
The Orangery, built 1761, is the largest classical style building in the Gardens and today is a popular cafe-restaurant.
Unlimited entry to Kew Gardens and Wakehurst
As a Friend, you gain free entry throughout the year to Kew Gardens and Wakehurst - two of the world's greatest botanic gardens.
Free entry for a family member with every visit
Bring a family member free of charge each time you visit Kew or Wakehurst and share the beauty of the Gardens. Just show your valid membership card at the entrance gate to gain free entry for yourself and your family guest.
Kew magazine
Friends receive our high-quality magazine featuring lively and informative articles on plants, horticulture and the environment, complemented by beautiful photographs and illustrations. You can also access the magazine as a pdf on a computer or tablet. To request access to the digital edition, please sign up below:
Special events
We run a programme of exclusive member-only events throughout the year. Full details are published in the events section of Kew magazine and on the website. Current Friends' events.
Free entry to a number of reciprocal gardens
Friends have unlimited access to some of the country's finest gardens in the UK*.
Special savings
Friends can obtain a 5% discount on selected Kew Adult Education courses and receive £1 off lectures.
Your Friends of Kew membership also entitles you to a 10% discount in our shops both online and in the gardens at Kew and Wakehurst. To claim your discount on online orders, please enter the code FRIEND2013 while viewing your basket, before proceeding to checkout.
Free garden entry for Friends of Kew
Whether you are a plant enthusiast, keen garden visitor, or simply looking for an enjoyable day out, be sure to make use of your membership in this way. All you need to do is show your valid Friend of Kew card on entry.
Telephone individual gardens to check opening times.
- The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Lost for many years beneath a mass of undergrowth, Heligan has been magnificently restored in recent years. It offers almost 200 acres for exploration, including productive gardens brimming with heritage varieties, pleasure grounds full of ancient trees and shrubs, a subtropical Jungle valley and outer estate devoted to the interests of wildlife.
Address: Pentewan, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 6EN
Telephone: 01726 845100
- The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum
Founded by Sir Harold Hillier in 1953, the Gardens cover 73 hectares, containing over 42,000 plants, representing one of the largest collections of hardy trees and shrubs in the British Isles.
Address: Jermyns Lane, Ampfield, Nr Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 0QA.
Telephone: 01794 369317 | 01794 369318
The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum
- Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest
A magnificent woodland garden with fine conifers, rhododendrons and 18 record tree species. Home to the National Collection of Conifers.
Address: Bedgebury Road, Bedgebury, Nr Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2SL
Telephone: 01580 879820
- Westonbirt - The National Arboretum
The largest arboretum in the British Isles, comprising 600 acres, over 17,000 trees including 130 champion trees and the National Maple Collection. Westonbirt offers something of interest all year round.
Address: Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8QS
Telephone: 01666 880220
- University of Oxford Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum
The oldest botanic garden in Britain, on the banks of the Cherwell in Oxford. In two hectares there are 8,000 plant species, representing almost every plant family. Featuring seven glasshouses, rock and water gardens and the National Collection of Euphorbia.
Gardens: Rose Lane, Oxford, OX1 4AZ
Arboretum: Nuneham Courtenay, Oxfordshire OX44 9PX
Telephone: 01865 286690
University of Oxford Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum
- Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses
Six hectares of ornamental gardens, designed by J C Loudon and opened in 1832. Features include four glasshouses - Tropical, Subtropical, Mediterranean and Arid House. The National Collection of Bonsai also resides in the Gardens.
Address: Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3TR
Telephone: 0121 454 1860
Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses
- Ness Botanic Gardens
Founded in 1898 by A K Bulley, these Gardens were handed over to the University of Liverpool in 1948, and contain a wide variety of plants made possible by the mild climate and acid soil. Extensive collections of rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers and primulas.
Address: University of Liverpool, Ness, Neston, Cheshire, CH64 4AY
Telephone: 0151 353 0123
- The Yorkshire Arboretum
This 120 acre modern arboretum is managed as a charitable trust by a partnership between RBG Kew and Castle Howard. Attractively landscaped with vistas and lakes, it contains an excellent collection of trees, many of them from Kew expeditions.
Address: York, YO60 7DA
Telephone: 01653 648598
- Castle Howard Grounds
The magnificent landscaped grounds of Castle Howard contain many 18th and 19th century features, including a walled rose garden and Ray Wood. The extensive botanical collections in Ray Wood are curated by The Yorkshire Arboretum in association with Kew.
Please note: Friends of Kew are not entitled to free entry to the house at Castle Howard.
Address: York, YO60 7DA
Telephone: 01653 648333
- Holehird Gardens
A ten-acre garden run entirely by volunteers, promoting the knowledge of plants particularly suited to Lakeland conditions. Overlooking Windermere, the Gardens contain fine specimen trees and shrubs, a walled garden with excellent herbaceous borders, extensive rock and heather gardens and the alpine and tufa houses are of particular interest. The garden is home to three National Collections: Astilbe, Hydrangea and Polystichum.
Address: Lakeland Horticultural Society, Patterdale Road, Windermere, LA23 1NP
Telephone: 015394 46008
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
A world-famous botanic garden set on a hillside, enjoying magnificent views across the city. Renowned for its Rock Garden and the Glasshouse Experience (10 different temperate and tropical glasshouses). Entry to the garden is free to all, but Friends of Kew receive a 10% discount in the Botanics Shop and free entry to the Glasshouses.
Address: Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR
Telephone: 0131 552 7171
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Friends of Kew also gain free admission to the three regional gardens of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh:
- Benmore Botanic Garden
Located in a mountainous landscape on the Cowal Peninsula, Benmore is famous for its extensive range of trees and shrubs, including hundreds of rhododendron species and a fine collection of conifers. Most impressive is the spectacular avenue of Giant Redwoods, planted in 1863.
Address: Dunoon, Argyll, PA23 8QU
Telephone: 01369 706261
- Logan Botanic Garden
Established over 100 years ago as a kitchen garden, Logan retains its traditional walled design, and today contains a wide array of southern hemisphere plants. The climate here is exceptionally mild, providing the ideal environment for plants such as tree ferns, cabbage palms and other unusual sub-tropical plants.
Address: Port Logan, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, DG9 9ND
Telephone: 01776 860231
- Dawyck Botanic Garden
A large collection of impressive mature trees provides a fine setting for a variety of flowering trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Burnside walks pass through mature woodland rich in wildlife.
Address: Stobo, Near Peebles, Scottish Borders, EH45 9JU
Telephone: 01721 760254
*Dyffryn Gardens & Arboretum is no longer part of the reciprocal garden entry scheme and therefore Friends of Kew are no longer able to gain free entry to these gardens.
If you are not yet a Friend of Kew, join us today
Individual membership: £71 | Joint membership: £98
Save £10 when paying by Direct Debit
Join online now by Direct Debit or credit/debit card
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How you are helping
Kew is taking part in the 'Big Give Christmas Challenge'
09 Nov 2012
This year, Kew is taking part in the 'Big Give Christmas Challenge', a campaign to encourage philanthropic giving by matching a donors’ gift. Effectively your donation to the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership could be doubled! We need to raise £50,000 for next year’s seed collecting trips, as well as expanding our work on using existing collections. Please note: This campaign ran from 6 to 19 December 2012 and has now finished.
Your donations can help Kew inspire visitors through our Gardens
21 Aug 2012
A recent donation from a Kew supporter will give more of our visitors the chance to explore our beautiful Gardens.
Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership ‘top banana’ as it celebrates banking 10% of the world’s wild plant species.
15 Oct 2009
Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is celebrating collecting, banking and conserving 10% of the world’s wild plant species by banking its 24,200th plant species.
Patrons tour of the Palm House
27 Jul 2012
A group of Kew Patrons enjoyed a revealing tour of Kew's most iconic glasshouse. Palm House Manager Wesley Shaw spoke about the history of the building, the plants in the collection and the day-to-day work of maintaining this unique part of the Gardens.
