A Year at Kew - Hardcover

Smith, Rupert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0563521082 ISBN 13: 9780563521082

Publisher: BBC Books, 2004

Synopsis

Following the success of the hardback, this paperback edition of A Year At Kew is published to coincide with a new 12-part series which returns to follow another year in the life of Kew Garden. The first series attracted average audiences of over 3 million viewers and the hardback book sold over 40,000 copies. Kew Garden has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ranking it alongside Stonehenge, the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal. It receives over a million visitors a year and has been voted the UK s favourite garden. Beautifully illustrated and with extensive behind-the-scenes access, A Year At Kew captures the passion and commitment that goes into the garden and offers a unique look at this much-loved institution. Featuring a foreword by Alan Titchmarsh, himself a former student at Kew.

About this title

Review

Reading Rupert Smith’s A Year at Kew is almost as good as visiting England’s most famous botanical gardens – and certainly as good as watching the accompanying TV series. With some impressive colour plates to buttress his text, Smith presents the reader with a fascinating month-by-month journey through the beauty of the gardens, with a host of ancillary information about the people who keep this great British institution in business (and it’s no easy task, as just a chapter or two of the book makes abundantly clear).

Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens have been voted the country’s favourite gardens (admittedly, hardly a surprise), and have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, ranking them with the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids. The million or so visitors who visit this haven of natural beauty would certainly agree with such recognition, but - as Smith informs us - a veritable army is necessary to keep things green. This dedicated group consists of scientists, landscape architects and, of course, hosts of gardeners and botanists who maintain the non-pareil collection of plants, trees and flowers that delight the eye of the visitor. Smith describes the monthly highlights at Kew and the Wakehurst Place country estate (noting, for instance, the famous orchid festival in February), while the often-neglected splendours of an autumnal Kew are equally celebrated.

In some ways, it's the intriguing behind-the scenes insights that makes A Year at Kew so diverting; a visit to Kew will never be the same after reading Smith’s splendid tribute. --Barry Forshaw

Review

A beautifully illustrated, month-by-month tour of one of the world s great botanical gardens."

Edition details

• Publisher: BBC Books
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0563521082
• ISBN 13: 9780563521082
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192