Richard Barley is Director of Gardens at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Home to more than 58,000 plants from around the globe, Kew Gardens boasts the most diverse living plant collection in the world. Kew’s heated glasshouses, including the iconic Palm House, are examples of beautiful architecture and cutting-edge Victorian technology that have made it possible for a rich variety of plants to survive Britain’s variable climate.
The Palm House opened its doors in 1848, and this remarkable indoor rainforest houses plants from some of the most threatened environments in the world. Many of the plants within are endangered, and some are on the brink of extinction in the wild.