Imperial College and Kew

The day consisted of a morning visit to the Imperial College of London and a brief afternoon trip to Kew Gardens.

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Kew Gardens:

It dates from 1759, comprises 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses, four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures, all set in an internationally significant landscape.It is one of London's top tourist attractions. 

 

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is the world's largest collection of living plants. Its living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over seven million preserved plant specimens. 

 

The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants.

The Palm House  between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. 

It is considered " the world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure." The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown.

In July 2003, the gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites

FUN FACTS:

From November 1959 until August 2007 Kew Gardens had a flagpole, the tallest in Britain. The flagpole was removed after damage by weather and woodpeckers.

Kew is important as a seedbank

Kew provides advice and guidance to police forces around the world where plant material may provide important clues or evidence in cases.

Kew has one of the largest compost heaps in Europe, and the compost is mainly used in the gardens, but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fundraising event for the gardens.

 

More still to be added...when i am more awake ... it was a big day!