Kew Gardens / Royal Botanic Gardens

Kew Gardens, officially the Royal Botanic Gardens, are situated in southwest London on the south bank of the Thames. Here some 30,000 plants are identified every year, more than 50,000 plants are grown and specimens and information are exchanged with botanists and botanical institutions all over the world. Here, too, the Brazilian rubber tree was adapted to the climatic conditions of the Malay peninsula, and here was developed the Marquis strain of wheat which made it possible to bring the prairies of northwest Canada into cultivation. The Herbarium contains a collection of over seven million dried plants and the Library has more than 50,000 volumes of botanical literature. The gardens were first laid out in 1759 on the initiative of Princess Augusta, mother of George III. In 1841 they became government property, and in 1897 Queen Victoria added Queen's Cottage and the adjoining woodland. In 1773 Joseph Banks, a botanist who accompanied James Cook around the world, became Director of Kew during George III's reign. At this time countless exotic plants were introduced into the gardens from expeditions to remote parts of the world. Under the direction of Sir William Hooker (1841), the Botanic Gardens gained worldwide renown.

A river cruise down the Thames is a particularly lovely way to get to the 300 acres of gardens.