No chance to travel? Kew says it with flowers

Daniel Nelson

Missing out on flying to Africa, Asia or Latin America? Try a trip to Kew Gardens instead.

Kew’s new Travel the World trail offers a chance to “delve into the jungle, meditate in a Japanese garden or meander amongst Mediterranean olive groves … 30 minutes from central London.”

“At Kew Gardens, we want people to come and engage with different parts of the world and do so all in a single day,” explains a Kew official.

“We’re all facing restrictions on travel right now, so we wanted to highlight the diverse landscapes of the world in a way that can satisfy people’s wanderlust,” he says.

Ten plants dotted around the 32,000 acres have been highlighted by boards bearing a poem or text, and choice words from Kew botanists.

The trail takes in the Himalaya (“… an eternal lover, jilted by the silver-barked suitor of the steep cliffs, the Nepalese alder….” – poet and translator Yuyutsu R D Sharma), Argentine (“A Victorian man: ‘It would puzzle a monkey to climb that.’ Name found” – Leo Boix), and South Africa (“… the smell of Cape May bush bends towards us along the path up the river’s bank, here, where impheho sprouts” – Toni Giselle Stuart.) 

The world tour continues to Spain, California, Canada, Japan, Australia, Britain and China (“In his Flora Japonica, the plant collector mistakenly spelled the Japanese word gingkyo as ginkgo” – Nina Mingya Powles).

“In a year when many holidays and travel plans have had to change … this is a perfect way to reconnect with nature after months of lockdown, “ says Richard Barley, the organisation’s director of horticulture, learning and operations.

* Kew Gardens, Richmond, TW9, £17.50, concessions available, until 16 October. Info: https://www.kew.org/