The Beautiful Nature and Scenery of London’s Kew Gardens

It’s been several months since I visited the Kew Gardens. Oops! But as we’re heading into spring again, I’m sharing my favourite shots of nature and wildlife from the day to welcome the forthcoming season.

I’d been meaning to go to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew (aka Kew Gardens) for some time. However, it took my mum visiting all the way from Australia and a gloriously sunny May day for me to finally get there.

The grounds are absolutely huge, so you do need a good few hours (at least) to explore. There’s so much to see in the gardens, so I’ve put together a gallery of my favourite areas.

The Palm House

Just inside the Victoria Gate entrance is The Palm House – a huge, tropical greenhouse. It is surrounded by a Parterre – a geometric pattern of garden beds, which sadly were not in full bloom when we were there. However, the inside of the greenhouse filled with colourful and unique plants did not disappoint.

A small lake lies across from the greenhouse and is home to Kew’s resident geese and ducks.

Waterlily House

Waterlily House was one of my favourite places in the grounds. The humid greenhouse features a large pond filled with a colourful variety of lilies so massive that their lily pads could have supported a small human!

It’s a really serene place and when in full bloom, is absolutely stunning.

Kew Palace and the Royal Kitchens

The Royal Kitchens  are right by Kew Palace and feature a small, walled vegetable garden. The garden is lined with borders of colourful English plants and flowers, which attract local bees.

The Treetop Walkway

In the middle of the grounds’ arboretum, there is an 18 metre high Treetop Walkway. Whilst it’s not the prettiest structure, it gives visitors amazing views of the gardens and across South West London.

Japanese Landscape

A stark contrast to most of the other gardens is the beautiful Japanese Landscape. With peaceful water features, super-tempting-to-walk-on raked gravel gardens, and neatly-manicured shrubs and hedges, it feels worlds away from the rest of the gardens.

Right next to the Japanese Gardens is the Chinese Pagoda. Though not technically part of this section, I include it as it’s a beautiful building.

The Lake and Sackler Crossing

The large lake in the middle of the gardens is teeming with wildlife. Ducks, geese, swans and other water birds were swim, nest and hang out by the lake.

There is a bridge running across the middle of the lake that not only allows you great views, it also makes access to the far ends of the gardens much easier. The lake is the perfect peaceful place to sit and nature watch.

Davies Alpine and Rock Garden

The Davies Alpine and Rock Garden is another unique area. Featuring plants from mountain regions all over the world (including a teensy Australian section!) the Alpine rock gardens may not be as vibrant and “pretty” as others but it’s beautifully constructed and one of the more botanically diverse areas.

If you’re looking for a day out in London where you can be surrounded by nature, I highly recommend Kew Gardens. At just £12.50 for adults and children 16-and-under getting free entry, it’s hardly going to break the bank either.

I’d love to see the gardens in different seasons so I may head back in summer or autumn this year.

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Want to see more of London’s green spaces? Check out my post on the Isabella Plantation at Richmond Park.