Those unable to fulfill their wanderlust in these unsure days of lockdown and journey quarantine are invited to immerse themselves in the sights, smells and spirit of faraway locations – in a botanical sense no less than – right here in the UK.
From colossal Californian redwoods, these imposing historic giants of the plant kingdom, to the balmy perfume of Mediterranean rosemary and lavender, visitors to Kew Gardens in London can be transported to 10 international locations throughout six continents inside just some hours as a part of its Travel the World path expertise from subsequent week.
The essence of a tranquil Japanese tea backyard and delights of the Himalayan flora of an undulating Rhododendron dell are nonetheless inside attain, for a tiny fraction of the actual value, with visitors’ senses heightened by accompanying prose, poetry and illustrations specifically commissioned from expertise throughout the world.
“In a year when many holidays and travel plans have had to change, Travel the World at Kew will offer visitors a chance to experience the next best thing, a journey around the world inside the safety of our walls,” stated Richard Barley, the director of horticulture, studying and operations at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Kew’s Great Pagoda towers over plant specimens collected in China’s Sichuan province. South Africa’s bergs and kloofs are replicated in a rock backyard stippled with cascading waterfalls. Eucalyptus bushes arouse ideas of Australia, as do spectacular mountain gums.
The monkey puzzle bushes – “coiled succulent pine / with saurian arms, bony plates / on reptilian back” in the phrases of the Latino-British poet Leo Boix – are redolent of the time of dinosaurs. They evoke, too, Argentina’s “sub-Antarctic forests” and rivers of “the most radiant turquoise I’ve seen”, writes the Kew scientist Dr Laura Martinez-Suz in her accompanying prose.
Britain’s native woodlands of tall grasses, wildflowers and whispering beech and hazel are additionally on present. Meanwhile, Óscar Martín Centeno’s poem The dance of dawn in the Mediterranean Garden is a dreamscape of flowers swaying in the mild of a rising solar.
A centrepiece can be a large-scale humpback whale botanical dwelling sculpture, created by the winner of the Netflix sequence The Big Flower Fight and on show from 22 August – 18 September.
The specifically commissioned poetry and prose by literary award-nominated writers, with a powerful connection to every nation, are displayed alongside vibrant illustrations by artist Mark Boardman.
