Winter Garden

In 2022, our Horticulture Team began the restoration of a forgotten corner of Kew to offer something to visitors whatever the season. 

Now, Kew's new Winter Garden not only provides a wonderful range of plants year round, but unique views across the Gardens – take in the Temperate House and Pagoda during the winter months.

A number of Euonymus trees frame the entrance to the garden, joined by hellebores, snowdrops and eranthis, all of which have been lifted and replanted here from elsewhere in the Arboretum. 

A winding gravel trail takes visitors through plantings of hardy winter specimens, to a vista at the base of an old concrete footing that once supported a 300ft flag pole. From here, the Temperate House and Great Pagoda can be seen in the distance.

While ‘tender’ plants would be killed by freezing temperatures, the plants in the Winter Garden are ‘hardy’. They have evolved adaptations that allow them to flourish in winter conditions including frost, reduced sunlight, and fewer opportunities for pollination.

The history of this patch of Kew stretches back through centuries of change. 

It was first home to the Temple of Victory, built in 1759 to commemorate the Battle of Minden. It was later replaced by a succession of three flagpoles which towered over Kew until 2007. 

The third and final flagpole was erected in 1959, and was, at the time, the world’s tallest wooden flagpole at a record-breaking 225 feet tall. This colossal final flagpole was removed due to suspected rot in 2007.