Secluded Garden

Located between the Main Gate and the Princess of Wales Conservatory, the Secluded Garden provides a quiet retreat for visitors.

  •  
  • Close Thanks for liking this page. Tell us why by adding a comment at the bottom.
Secluded Garden

Secluded Garden

Did you know?

  • The panels in the secluded garden include extracts from The enkindled spring by D H Lawrence and Amoretti Sonnet 26 by Edmund Spenser.

History and design

The Secluded Garden was created in 1995 by garden designer Anthea Gibson, with the aim of using plants to stimulate sight, smell, touch and hearing. Among the plantings are panels with extracts of poems highlighting the senses.

Those entering from the entrance closest to the Main Gate pass through an avenue of rustling bamboo (Phyllostachys viridi-glaucescens) beside a trickling stream. The cottage-style beds beyond are planted with scented flowers, such as Rosa ‘Madame Isaac Periere’; fruits, including apples and pears; and visually stimulating species such as Cistus, with showy tissue-like pink flowers. At the heart of the garden is a circular seating area bounded by pleached lime trees, Tilia x euchlora with a spiralling slate water feature “7 Slate Towers” designed by Daniel Harvey at its centre.

Things to look out for

Just outside the bamboo-lined entrance to the Secluded Garden is a bed highlighting plants that have been named after the Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst Place. These include the spindle tree (Euonymus fortunei ‘Kewensis), stinking Benjamin (Trillium erectum ‘Kew Beauty') and lily-of-the-valley bush (Pieris formosa var. forrestii ‘Wakehurst’). The latter, whose young leaves are an intense red, was first found as a natural hybrid at Wakehurst Place.

Kids’ mission

Can you name two scented fruits mentioned by Edward Thomas in his poem All to sweetness turns?

4 comments on 'Secluded Garden'

says

12/04/2013 6:18:14 PM | Report abuse

Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing you all again soon

Kew feedback team says

03/04/2013 3:44:29 PM | Report abuse

Hi Ani. Thanks for your comment. The shrubs inside the Secluded glasshouse are ‘Amstel Queen' (Ficus binnendijkii). Regards, the Kew feedback team

Ani says

02/04/2013 8:01:07 PM | Report abuse

just inside the seluded garden green house on either side of the entrance doors are two square white containers containing the same species of tree. What are these please? Thank you

Kam Hong Leung says

17/02/2012 6:06:00 AM | Report abuse

Very interesting and helpful information. The photo of the "Secluded Garden Glassgouse" at the top of this web page is particularly useful for the first-time visitors (like myself) to find the place. Thanks for the good, hard work.

Garden attractions

Follow Kew

Keep up to date with events and news from Kew

Related Links

Related Tags

  1. english garden
  2. innovative
  3. around the world
  4. adventurous
  5. successful
  6. irreplaceable
  7. ground breaking
  8. amazing
  9. beautiful
  10. creative
  11. imaginative
  12. inspiring
  13. exotic
  14. for kids
  15. fun
  16. popular
  17. interesting
  18. english heritage
  19. historical
  20. romantic
  21. ancient
  22. rare
  23. active
  24. landscapes
  25. discovered
  26. old
  27. unusual
  28. high
  29. challenging
  30. donate
  31. for friends
  32. gifts that help
  33. the UK
  34. treasures
  35. at risk
  36. endangered
  37. fragile
  38. sustainable
  39. useful
  40. brand new
  41. special interest
  42. powerful
  43. high up
  44. ornamental
  45. pretty
  46. Kew at home
  47. wet
  48. extraordinary
  49. hot
  50. wild
  51. rare
  52. flowering

Your Kew

We invite photographers to capture the sights at Kew and Wakehurst. These images are a selection of images submitted by photographers from around the world. We hope you enjoy them. You can see more on Flickr.

See your favourite reasons to visit