Queen’s Garden

Designed to complement Kew Palace, the Queen’s Garden is dedicated exclusively to the plants and architectural styles of the 17th century.

Most of the plants seen here are from species grown in the 1600s or earlier, creating a historical journey into British plant life.

In May and June the display of flowers on the laburnum pergola is spectacular. Its golden yellow and sweet-scented flowers appear in chains (racemes) up to 25cm long that frame the colonnade in a bright and fragrant array.

Golden yellow petals of the laburnum pergola — The laburnum pergola at its height in early summer.

Trimmed hedges in the Queen's Garden in winter — Detail of the Queen's Garden in winter

Path in the Queen's Garden at Kew bordered by neat hedges

Hidden highlight

Home to the oldest sculptures at Kew, the Queen’s Garden features a number of stone ornaments, including a Venetian wellhead and a marble satyr.

Cherub fountain in the Queen's Garden at Kew

Enclosed in box hedges is a parterre with a pond at the centre, where a copy of Verrocchio's 'Boy with a Dolphin' leans towards the sky, an imitation of the original statue housed in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio.