England: London, Kew Gardens – Escape Grey Skies at the Tropical Extravaganza Festival. London during the winter holidays can be exciting. Family festivities in and around the city abound. One of my favorite outings – the perfect country escape any time of year - is up the Thames at Kew Gardens.

Kew Gardens, one of the world's most famous gardens, is exceptional. Ideal for anyone who appreciates gardens, it also works really well for a day out with children. While exceptional plant specimens and interesting history are to be expected the added bonus is the variety of ways visitors of all ages (children in particular) are engaged through trail maps, programs and activities. Three dimensional dispalys inform visitors; docents eagerly answer questions; life-sized plants speak; touching is allowed; running on the grass is encouraged. F

 

rom February 6, 2010 until March 7 2010, Kew Gardens is hosting a Tropical Extravaganza Festival. Brighten the cold, gloomy days of February by visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's 'Tropical Extravaganza' festival, a hot-weather oasis set in the steamy tropical zone of the Princess of Wales Conservatory filled with thousands of vibrant orchids and tropical plants.

Kew Gardens is home to one of the world's oldest and most com pr ehensive collection of living orchids - the largest family of flowering plants on the planet - and the festival will showcase their broad diversity.

Wander through the Princess of Wales Conservatory past bright bursts of colour erupting out of the tropical foliage. Tunnels dripping with orchids and bromeliads will lead visitors to the glasshouse's central pond where an island made up of orchids and tropical plants with diverse colours and shapes will celebrate plant biodiversity. This dramatic display will include spiky Miltassias, spiralling Dendrobium's and cockleshell orchids (Encyclia cochleata) with their octopus shaped flowers.

The 25,000 described species of orchid range from the subtle and dainty to the flamboyantly glamorous, many of which are endangered and threatened in the wild. Orchids represent approximately 10% of the world's flowering plants most of which thrive in the tropics.

The Waterlily House will be home to displays highlighting some of the world's biodiversity hotspots, such as Madagascar , which boasts over 1,000 species of orchid. The festival is also an opportunity to learn about the diverse characteristics of these famous plants, their usefulness to people and their vulnerability in the wild as one of the most threatened of all flowering plant species.

Step behind the scenes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 February to 4 March 2010 , tour Kew 's orchid nurseries in the Tropical Nursery, which are usually closed to the public. You'll find out about the techniques Kew 's orchid experts use to care for the collection of living orchids. The tours are also an opportunity to ask about caring for tropical plants at home.

Weekend visitors will be able to tour the entire Tropical Nursery every Saturday (13 February to 6 March 2010 ).

Tours start in front of the White Peaks shop at 1pm , 1.30pm , 2pm and 2.30pm . The first three tours of the day will be followed by Q & A sessions with a member of the horticultural staff and cost £5 a person; the 2.30 tour will be followed by an orchid potting demonstration (during the week only) and costs £15 a person. Tours must be booked in advance by calling +44 (0)20 8332 5604 or emailing tours@kew.org . Tours are limited to10 places, on a first-come, first-served basis.

At 6,500 square metres the Tropical Nursery is even larger than the Temperate House and home to thousands of plants housed in 21 climatic zones. In here, thousands of plants are raised for research and display out in the glass houses.

Free Tropical Fruits Hands-on Sessions. Throughout the festival, on Wednesday and Saturdays from 2PM-4PM, RBG Kew's volunteer guides will delight visitors with a display of tropical fruits - some familiar, some weird and wonderful. Find out where they come from, how they grow and what they smell and taste like. Sessions will be held in the Secluded Garden Glasshouse.

Also at Kew:

Go tropical. Step out of the cold, peel off your layers, and explore the tropics and temperate regions in Kew's magnificent glasshouses. Wander through the steamy Palm House; experience the dry and wet tropics of the Princess of Wales conservatory, and enjoy the many spectacularly beautiful plants from warmer climes in the Temperate House – the biggest Victorian Glasshouse in the world.066KewGardensWalkway

Climb to the treetops. Visit Kew's Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway and climb 18m high into the treetops. Xstrata Treetop Walkway was designed by architects of the London Eye, taking visitors on an amazing journey from tree roots to tree top. Winter is a great time to enjoy sweeping views across the frosty Gardens thanks to a number of trees in the area shedding their leaves.

Make it happen. Opening Times: From 25 October to 6 February 2010 Monday-Sunday: 9.30am - 4.15pm. Glasshouses, Galleries and the Treetop Walkway close at 3.15pm. Admission: Adults £13, Concessions £11, FREE for children younger than 17 (accompanied by an adult). Admission to Kew Gardens includes free entry to all Glasshouses, Galleries and the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway. For more information visit www.kew.org

About Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. In 1759 Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, started an ambitious nine-acre physic garden around Kew Palace . Every generation has added to the charms and curiosities of Kew, now a major international visitor attraction. Together the landscaped, 132 hectares of Kew Gardens and RBG Kew's country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly 2 million visitors every year. Kew Gardens is a UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage Site and houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace. RBG Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world.

Location on the planet. Kew is situated on the south bank of the River Thames near Richmond, about 10 km south-west of London. Visit Kew Gardens Kew Gardens station is the nearest to Kew Gardens and is in Travelcard zone 3. From central London, the District Line train (destination "Richmond") stops at Kew Gardens station. The London Overground line, from N and NW London also stops at Kew G66EnglandKewBookardens. Need to know. Westminster Passenger Services Association (Upriver) Ltd, between Westminster and Kew and beyond, operates between April and October. The route runs Westminster, Putney, Kew, Richmond, Hampton Court. Need to know: It is not really practical to travel from Westminster to see Kew and Hampton Court in a day because there are insufficient transportation options, however starting from Kew, the Gardens and Hampton Court can be combined in a day. The last boat from Kew leaves at 1.30pm for Hampton Court and back from Hampton Court at 3pm, 4pm and 5pm (Check times with telephone number below). Passengers should ALWAYS check timings of return journeys from Kew and Hampton Court (all timings approximate due to tides and boats may be cancelled).

Content and images provided by Kew Gardens. Comment by Nancy Nelson-Duac, Editor  FTF. Copyright 2010.