The Gardens at Kew

With over a million visitors a year, Kew is one of the world's best-loved gardens. As well as having a fascinating history and holding an unchallenged position as the world's leading botanical research institute, it is a paradise for plant lovers, offering a wealth of ideas and inspiration for every gardener. Allen Paterson charts the evolution of Kew from private pleasure ground to public park to international institution. This story includes a cast of royalty, scientists, landscape designers and artists, at first being influenced by, later leading the development of plant collections elsewhere in Britain and around the world. This book will be beautifully illustrated with photographs of the garden today and archive illustrations from the Kew collection. It is published to tie in with the 250th Anniversary of Kew and is published by Frances Lincoln in association with the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew.

ISBN 0711225362   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780711225367 (What's this?)   Pages 352 Publisher Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd   Volumes 1 Imprint Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd   Weight (grammes) 2140 Format Hardback   Published in London Publication date 20 Nov 2008   Height (mm) 305 Photographer McRobb, Andrew   Width (mm) 250 Library of Congress SB466   Spine width (mm) 33 DEWEY 580.7342195   Academic level General

		Foreword by Stephen D. Hopper		6
		Preface		8
		Introduction		10
1		A Prospect of Kew: A Landscape with Royals		14
2		Botanic Gardens: What are they for?		36
3		Visit It: A Perambulation of Kew		46
4		A Green El Dorado: Collecting for Kew		118
5		Victorian Kew: At the Centre of the Empire		132
6		Into a Post-colonial World: Kew in the Twentieth Century		170
7		The Gardens Today: The Plant Collections Up Close		194
8		Enquiry into Plants: Science on the World Stage		242
9		Kew Palace: Let's Call on the King		254
10		Beyond the Millennium: Conservation in Action		262
11		Kew in the Country: Wakehurst Place		276
12		Bringing it all Together: Plants, People, Possibilities		310
		Looking to the future: Whither Kew?		328
		Index		348
		Picture acknowledgments		352

This engaging and beautifully illustrated account of Kew's journey shows us how it has not only survived two world wars and a raft of ideological challenges but has gone from strength to strength. The author clearly loves his subject and gives it a fitting, at times almost poetic, tribute. Waterstone's Books Quarterly As a former 'Kewite' - someone who learned his craft and fostered his love for plants and cultivating them at Kew - I was eager to see this book and hopeful that it would do justice to this garden. I can say that it has achieved this and more. For people who know the gardens well or for those who have never visited, it is a pleasure both to look at and to read. Garden Heaven (Ireland) Kew celebrates its 250th birthday in 2009 and this lavish book celebrates Kew through the ages. This eloquent, historical review explains how a royal pleasure garden became a public institution with a worldwide reputation for plant conservation. The photographs are stunning. Oxford Times The book's structure is clever, with a general "preambulation" through the gardens coming early on. The illustrations are both beautiful and apposite. It is particularly pleasing to find so much of the book devoted to the history of the landscape and its buildings (many now vanished) which began life as a royal garden in the 1730s. Finally, there could not be a more congenial companion guide than Allen Paterson, who seems to know instinctively just how many historical or botanical facts to give readers, avoiding information overload and enhancing Kew's essential romance. Daily Telegraph This gorgeous book, lavishly illustrated with 300 colour photographs, is published to tie in with the anniversary of its foundation and celebrates Kew's remarkable history and influence. A feast for the eyes - and inspiration for your own backyard. Daily Mail The former director of Chelsea Physic Garden makes for an expert guide. So maybe we should plot a major investment by bagging the book and then planning the trip to see the place in the flesh, or rather, the bud, bloom and leaf. Eastern Daily Press The text is well written and interesting enough to sit and read, or, if you prefer, you can just leaf through admiring the luxurious photos. And if you're too far away from London to visit Kew, this book may well be the next best thing. Professional Gardener Beautifully illustrated with photographs of the garden today and archive illustrations from the Kew collection, this fascinating book, published in association with Kew, is the perfect way to celebrate the Gardens' 250th Anniversary this year. Beautiful Britain

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