What’s on this March at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst
Release date: 1 March 2022
- Last chance to catch Orchids 2022, inspired by Costa Rica, at Kew Gardens
- Zadok Ben-David: Natural Reserve continues at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art
- Horticultural highlights include spring daffodils and crocuses at Kew, whilst rare rhododendrons start to appear at Wakehurst
- Wellbeing activities including forest bathing, yoga and tai chi at Kew Gardens, and a birdsong walk at Wakehurst
- Short courses including gin discovery, cyanotype and smartphone safaris
Kew Gardens
Orchids 2022
A celebration of Costa Rica, Orchids 2022 must end on Sunday 6 March 2022 at Kew Gardens. This much-loved festival returns to Kew for the first time since 2020, and once again see the Princess of Wales Conservatory transformed by a host of vibrant horticultural displays and animated soundscapes, transporting visitors to the tropics of Central America. Images available here.
International Garden Photographer of the Year
Finishing on Sunday 6March, the International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition features a selection of winning photographs across categories including Beautiful Gardens, The Beauty of Plants, Wildlife in the Garden and The World of Fungi, the exhibition takes place in Kew’s stunning Arboretum. Winners of the Captured at Kew special award are also on display.
Monthly British Sign Language Tours
13 March, 11am – 2pm
These walking tours are led by our specially trained tour guides and tailored for visitors who use British Sign Language. They offer a fascinating overview of the Gardens, its history and important scientific work. These tours are free, with free entry to Kew Gardens included. Advance registration via email is essential.
Sensory tours
13 March, 2pm- 3pm
Specifically curated for visitors with sight loss and their carers, this sensory experience offers the chance to encounter Kew Gardens through touch and smell. Led by one of Kew’s specially-trained tour guides, these tours are free, with free entry to Kew Gardens included. Advance registration via email is essential.
Horticultural Highlights
From vibrant bursts of daffodils to colourful carpets of crocuses, welcome signs of spring are beginning to appear at Kew Gardens, particularly in the Woodland Garden, the Natural Area around the Temple of Aeolus and the Great Broad Walk Borders. At Wakehurst, visitors can spot the first rare rhododendrons blooming across stunning vistas as they make their way through the dramatic ravine of Westwood Valley, or wander the 3.5 miles of walking trails in the Loder Valley Nature Reserve which teems with new life come spring, from dormice to badgers.
Wellbeing at Kew
Kew’s popular wellbeing events return this March, supporting both physical and mental wellbeing within the inspiring surroundings of Kew Gardens’ 320-acre UNESCO World Heritage site.
Forest bathing
9, 17 and 24 March | 10.30am – 1pm | Arboretum | £60 (includes entry to the Kew Gardens and 20% discount in our restaurants)
Inspired by the Japanese art of Shinrin-yoku, forest bathing is a sensory woodland walk alongside an expert guide, who will lead participants as they disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. Organised in partnership with the Forest Bathing Institute.
Tai chi
25 March | 9am – 10am | Mediterranean Garden | £35 (includes entry to Kew Gardens and 20% discount in our restaurants)
Boost your physical and mental wellbeing with the centuries-old Chinese martial art, ta chi, amidst the tranquil surroundings of Kew’s Mediterranean Garden.
Temperate House Yoga
10 and 23 March| 7.30am – 8.45am | Temperate House | £45 (includes entry to Kew Gardens and 20% discount in our restaurants)
These one-hour vinyasa flow sessions are held in the spectacular Temperate House. Enjoy pre-opening classes in the midst of 10,000 rare and endangered plants, led by Anil Jangi, Kew’s own yoga instructor.
Zadok Ben-David: Natural Reserve
Extended until 24 April 2022 due to popular demand, Zadok Ben David: Natural Reserve continues at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. This first solo exhibition by the artist in the UK since 2008 includes Blackfield, a space-specific floor installation containing over 17,000 steel etched flowers assembled entirely by hand. Images available here.
New Family Kitchen & Shop
Situated next to the interactive Children’s Garden, Kew’s brand-new Family Kitchen & Shop not only offers families a place to eat and drink, but also to engage with the natural world and learn more about where food comes from, discovering the important role which plants and fungi play in all our lives. With a capacity to host up to 250 diners, the restaurant is a space where the wonder of nature combines with an interactive food laboratory and is perfect for a visit this spring. Images are available here.
Elegant and Enchanting
Also at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art during March is Elegant and Enchanting, a stunning art exhibition highlighting the plant habitats and stunning flora of Japan, China and Thailand. Featured artists include Asuka Hishiki, Hideo Horikoshi, Mariko Ikeda, Mieko Ishikawa and Kimiyo Maruyama. Curated by Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE, the exhibition highlights these botanically rich countries and their wide range of plant habitats and beautiful flora.
Short Courses
All about honey: Tasting and cheese pairing
15 March | 5 – 7pm | Cambridge Cottage | £80 (includes entry to Kew Gardens)
Join scientist and beekeeper Dr Agnes Tyburn for this fun and tasty workshop celebrating all things honey. Explore the elements that define the taste and flavour of honey, and discover the production process from the honeybee colony to the jar on your kitchen shelf.
Gin discovery and tasting experience
17 March | Pavilion Bar and Grill | £90 (includes entry to Kew Gardens)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and East London Liquor Company’s Head Distiller, Tom Hills, invite you on a gin tasting journey through the Gardens. Exploring and visiting some of the key botanicals used in England’s most iconic spirit, participants will learn all about the pollinators that make gin possible from one of our experts at Kew, before a tasting of East London Liquor Company gins.
Cyanotype workshop
18 March | 10.15am – 1.15pm | The Botanical | £80 (includes entry to Kew Gardens and all materials)
This practical workshop will showcase the basics of the cyanotype printmaking process. Under the guidance of photographer Magda Kuca, participants will be able to create their own botanical images using paper, cyanotype paints and UV light.
Smartphone safari
23 March | 10.30am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 4pm | £75 (price includes entry to Kew Gardens)
Join experienced photographer Jet Lendon for a unique masterclass and discover the art of capturing stunning images using your smartphone. Embark on a safari at Kew and see what natural wonders you can catch on camera.
Boro workshop
23 March | 1pm – 4pm | £80 (includes entry to Kew Gardens and a Boro stitching kit)
This class, led by Rob Jones from Romor Designs, will allow participants to learn all about the origins of Boro, garment repair and gain hands-on experience of different techniques, including sashiko stitching and appliqué.
Botanical art class for knitters: Intermediate
24 March | 10am – 4pm | The Nash Conservatory | £100 (price includes entry to Kew Gardens)
Join artist, designer and knitter Dee Hardwicke for this special botanical art class for knitters. Dee will show participants how to combine colours, shapes and motifs to create their own artworks of seasonal flowers and foliage.
Wakehurst
Wellbeing
19 March | 10am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm | Meet at Wakehurst Visitor Centre | £22.50 (includes entry to the gardens and car parking)
These sessions, led by Swedish teacher and workshop leader Helena Skoog, will show you how to use all your senses to connect with your surroundings, drawing on the power of nature to relieve tension, relax and nourish your sense of wellbeing within the stunning surroundings of Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex.
The Wakehurst Chorus: Birdsong Walk
26 March | 10.30am - 12.30pm and 1.30 - 3.30pm | Meet at Wakehurst Visitor Centre | £30 / £27 members (includes entry to the gardens and car parking)
Join bird expert and ecologist Tom Forward, for a walk around Wakehurst and learn bird songs and calls, with the aid of field guides, smartphone apps, and doing it the good old-fashioned way - listening and looking.
Dining at Wakehurst
27 March | 12pm, 1pm or 2.30pm | The Mansion, Wakehurst | £39 per adult, £15 per child (3-12 years), under 3’s free
Shower your mum with love this Mother’s Day and enjoy a lovely walk around Wakehurst's wild botanic gardens, followed by a sumptuous lunch in our Elizabethan Mansion. Each ticket includes a three- course lunch, arrival drink of prosecco or elderflower fizz, coffee and petit fours and entry to Wakehurst.
What we are doing to keep visitors safe
The safety and wellbeing of our visitors is of the utmost importance to us and we are continually monitoring and responding to the Covid-19 pandemic as it evolves. We are adhering to government advice in our planning to ensure visitors and staff remain safe while enjoying Kew and Wakehurst. Safety measures will reflect government advice at the time of visiting and will be clearly communicated across RBG Kew’s channels and onsite.
For more information, images, or to unsubscribe from this mailing list, please contact the Press Office at pr@kew.org.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
About Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding collections as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international and a top London visitor attraction. Kew Gardens’ 132 hectares of landscaped gardens, and Wakehurst, Kew’s Wild Botanic Garden, attract over 2.5 million visits every year. Kew Gardens was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrated its 260th anniversary in 2019. Wakehurst is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. RBG Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support RBG Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales.
About Wakehurst
Please note that Wakehurst is referred to just as Wakehurst, not Wakehurst Place. It is not a National Trust property.
Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex is home to the Millennium Seed Bank and over 500 acres of the world’s plants including temperate woodlands, ornamental gardens and a nature reserve. It is situated in the High Weald of Sussex, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and focuses on wild plant collections. The Millennium Seed Bank houses and protects seed from the world’s most substantial and diverse collection of threatened and useful wild plants, making it the most biodiverse place on earth.
RBG Kew receives just under half of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales.
In March 2021, RBG Kew launched its 10-year strategy Our Manifesto for Change 2021. The institution’s ultimate goal is step up to help to end the extinction crisis and contribute to creating a world where nature is protected, valued by all and managed sustainably. In the wake of a global pandemic, and with the future of the planet in peril, the strategy represents a public commitment by RBG Kew to do everything in its power to reverse the environmental devastation of biodiversity loss and climate change. The five key priorities are 1) Delivering science-based knowledge and solutions to protect biodiversity and use natural resources sustainably 2) Inspiring people to protect the natural world 3) Training the next generation of experts: 4) Extending our reach 5) Influencing national and international opinion and policy.
On May 25th 2021 RBG Kew launched its new Sustainability Strategy – committing to become Climate Positive by 2030 and marking a step-change in our urgent action to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis.