Replacement greenhouse in the Directors Garden at Kew

The new ¾ span lean-to, aluminium greenhouse had to be exactly the same size as the previous one and built to match the 13m long by 3m wide footprint. To maintain the traditional look of the Victorian structure, the Messenger style was chosen, meaning the inside of the greenhouse had the same timber look as the exterior, with no nuts and bolts on show.

A partition was put up in the middle of the structure with an adjoining door; the first area is home to a huge vine that was bursting through the roof of the previous structure, the space at the back now an area dedicated to growing tomatoes; “Richard loves tomatoes, they are his favourite things to cook with and he has always wanted to grow his own,” Tony, arboretum and gardens manager commented, “so I am helping him grow some this year.”

The vine and tomatoes have been planted in raised beds that run the full length of the greenhouse, whist the opposite side has ample benching currently being used to dry onions and elephant garlic. The ‘off-white’ structure that now sits at the entrance of the walled garden is a beautiful feature and a welcome change from the tired looking wooden frame that stood before.

The walled garden, that is a private space for the director and his family, is maintained by Tony. “The greenhouse is doing really well, I love spending time in it,” he commented, “the vents are slightly different which has affected the growth of our vines, so next year we will try keeping the door open, even throughout winter.”

We also caught up with Tony to find out what they have growing in their beautiful walled garden; click here to see the full story.