Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at Kew Gardens looking at the building of the Temperate House and its recent refurbishment.   It took 38 years to build and was designed by Decimus Burton and built of glass and wrought iron. The glass houses were built to enhance the international appeal of the gardens. The original designs were in the show and well as lovely watercolours of some of the plants that were in the original planting. I loved an 1888 picture of the interior and some fascinating archive material.   Closes 16 September 2018  

Fabulous refurbishment of Temperate House at Kew Gardens.   I must admit I’d not seen it before the refurbishment but did see it midway though and couldn’t have imagined it would look this good. It is like a huge glass church of plants with wonderful vistas down the centre of it. Everything looked clean and crisp but still kept a period feel. I didn’t brave the high level walkway but they views down onto the plants must have been dramatic. As well as the structure being renewed the planting was new and reflected the floral of the temperate areas of the world with each area and island having a lushly planted and well labelled area. There was almost too much to look at and take in so I just did the Caribbean section in detail. Review Guardian