As you wait for winter to turn to spring, add a touch of colour to your life by visiting the nation's most wondrous winter gardens, where tropical plants thrive 365 days a year.
29 November 2007
The National Botanical Gardens of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire
Windswept Mid-Wales might not seem like the obvious choice for a garden visit before the last frost thaws, but the National Botanical Garden of Wales is a little hailed treasure of British Horticulture. The glass dome at its centre was a millennium project -and money very well-spent. From the outside, it looks like a giant raindrop. Inside its 4,500 square-metre dome, you’ll find a unique family of flora. Displayed for the first time under one roof – it’s the largest single-span glass house on the planet - are plants from the world’s six Mediterranean climate zones which include regions of California, Australia, the Canary Islands, Chile, South Africa and the Med basin itself. There are two levels of planting and walking along the pathways and under and over the bridge is a delightful sensory experience.
Complete with waterfall and a feast of fragrance and colour this is a very relaxing place to spend a day - plus it’s gorgeously warm and tropical inside, too.
For more information call 01558 667148 or visit www.gardenofwales.org.uk
Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh
In Scotland’s fair capital set in secluded parkland is the Royal Botanic Garden. There’s no place better to spend a wintry day than its 10 grand glasshouses.
Its 70-foot tall Temperate Palm House is the highest in Britain. Full of leafy ferns and lush, green sub-tropical plants, it’s cool in comparison to the neighbouring Tropical Palm House. Be sure to remove your jacket before entering this balmy capsule. The dense vegetation, heat and humidity recreate the atmosphere of a rain forest.
The highlight of any visit, though, is a stroll in the Tropical Aquatic House - with its huge Amazonian water lilies, exotic flowers, tree frogs, koi carp and cacti. Learn about the latter’s incredible ability to survive in the desert from information boards - and if you’re lucky you might even catch them in bloom.
For More information call 0131 552 7171 or visit www.rbge.org.uk
Kew Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey
No fewer than six hot houses dot Kew’s world-famous 121-hectares of garden. Start at the Princess of Wales Conservatory, a modern building that looks like a succession of gabled greenhouses. Inside you’ll find Venus flytraps and other insect eaters as well as delicate orchids. Move on to the amazing Palm House where plants from the tropics dwarf you. Some leaves are as big as parasols; others resemble windmill sails while the fronds of ferns stretch out like giant fans. Climb the spiral staircase to the viewing gallery where you can gaze down on coconut palms, banana trees and giant bamboos. Then there’s the Waterlily House and Temperate House also to explore.
Finish your visit on a light-hearted note by seeking out The Evolution glasshouse. It takes you on a journey through 3.5 billion years of ecological history.
For more information call 0208 332 5655 or visit www.kew.org