The Temperate House of Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens Temperate House, which first opened in 1863, is the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world. 

It has been a Kew landmark for more than 250 years. After a five-year renovation, the Temperate House reopened in 2018. 

It is home to 1,500 species from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, including some of the world’s rarest and most endangered temperate plants. 

Some of the plants you’ll see here are extinct in the wild and can only be found at Kew. 

All the species require temperatures above 50 degrees to survive. 

In the Temperate House, it is also described how Kew and collaborators from around the globe are trying to save endangered or extinct plants in the wild.

The Leveled paths and an inside perimeter balcony provide views from above. 

The Temperate House’s History

• Decimus Burton designed it, just like the Palm House for tropical plants.
• Although it opened in May 1863, the building took 36 years for the construction to complete.
• The Temperate House was built on a pile of gravel, sand and spoil from Kew’s Lake.
• During WWII, 127 bombs were dropped on Kew, causing structural damage to the Temperate House.

Featured Image: KEW.org