2025 highlights at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst: Where science, art, fashion and nature collide

From late September, attention will turn to the world of fashion when visitors to Kew’s iconic Temperate House will be able to uncover how plants and fungi are helping to create sustainable solutions with Material World, a six-week festival encompassing a series of innovative installations, surrounded by some of the rarest plants on the planet. With a central installation from Australian Nigerian artist Nnenna Okore, Material World will also include a series of spectacular After Hours events, encompassing everything from sustainable shopping to interactive fashion displays. 

In autumn 2025, Kew’s Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art will be transformed to showcase two contrasting complementary exhibitions connecting traditional Indian Art with contemporary art practice.  For the first time, Flora Indica will put on public display a selection of the most outstanding works from Kew’s South Asian botanical illustration collections. Featuring a series of stunning art commissioned by British botanists and created by Indian artists, this landmark exhibition will recover the lost histories of these extraordinary works, tell the stories of forgotten artists and reinterpret the fluctuating history of these astonishing collections. Alongside this, a tandem exhibition, Botanical Tales and Seeds of Empire, by renowned contemporary artists The Singh Twins will showcase a selection of new works, fusing traditional Indian and contemporary Western influences in their signature ‘Past-Modern’ style. 

Other highlights throughout the year include the return of the ever-popular Orchid festival in February, a celebration of blossom throughout the spring and seasonal events including Christmas at Kew and Glow Wild. New horticultural highlights at Kew Gardens also include the Winter Garden and the Wild Rose Garden, which will be in full bloom from June onwards. Further details can be found in the listings information below.

At Wakehurst, the much-loved Nature Heroes programme continues throughout the year, with new badges available for the now-iconic Nature Heroes cape. Children can get stuck into missions inspired by dinosaurs, seeds, fungi and more, fostering a love for the natural world. 

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is dedicated to harnessing the power of plants and fungi to end the extinction crisis and secure a future for all life on Earth. With Kew’s world-leading research, global partnerships and beloved gardens – home to the world’s most diverse collections of plants and fungi – Kew is using its trusted voice to shape policy and practice worldwide. As a charity, Kew relies on the critical support of its visitors, not only to sustain the gardens, but to protect global plant and fungal biodiversity for the benefit of our planet and humanity.

ENDS

Admission to the exhibition is included in a ticket to Kew Gardens. Pre-booking online offers the best value visit. 

For more information or images, please contact the Press Office at pr@kew.org. 

Image credit: Horizontal © Crystal Eye. Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Paris, London. 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew   

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific and horticultural institution and conservation charity, whose mission is to understand and protect plants and fungi for the wellbeing of people and the future of all life on Earth. It is internationally respected for its outstanding collections, horticultural and scientific expertise in plant and fungal diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the globe.  

Kew Gardens, with its 132 hectares of historic, landscaped gardens, is also a major attraction for international and London visitors alike. Dating back to 1759, the site has a rich history and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003. Combined visitor numbers with Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, total over 2.5 million per year. Wakehurst is home to the Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world and a safeguard against the disastrous effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. 

RBG Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from the UK Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils, with the remaining two thirds coming from supporters, sponsors, memberships and commercial activity including ticket sales. This enables RBG Kew to carry out its vital scientific and educational work. 

For tickets and membership options, please visit our website.  Since implementing a new accessibility scheme for those in receipt of Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Legacy Benefits, Kew has welcomed over 100,000 visitors with £1 tickets across both UK sites. 

About Wakehurst 

Whilst Wakehurst is not a National Trust property, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has a longstanding relationship with the National Trust dating back to 1965 when Kew took over the running of Wakehurst’s 535 acres of botanical landscapes and Elizabethan Mansion, bequeathed to the National Trust in 1963.  

Wakehurst is Kew’s wild botanic garden in the Sussex High Weald National Landscape. Its ancient and beautiful landscapes span 535 acres and are a place for escape, exploration, tranquility, and wonder. Its diverse collection of plants from Britain and around the globe thrive within a tapestry of innovative gardens, temperate woodlands, meadows, and wetlands. Wakehurst is a centre for UK biodiversity and global conservation, seed research and ecosystem science. At its heart is Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, the world’s largest store of seeds from wild plant species.     

RBG Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support RBG Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales. In the first six months since implementing a new accessibility scheme for those in receipt of Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Legacy Benefits, Kew has welcomed over 100,000 visitors with £1 tickets.  

At the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, we’re dedicated to harnessing the power of plants and fungi to end the extinction crisis and secure a future for all life on Earth. With our world-leading research, global partnerships and beloved gardens – home to the world’s most diverse collections of plants and fungi – we’re using our trusted voice to shape policy and practice worldwide. As a charity we rely on the critical support of our visitors, not only to sustain the gardens, but to protect global plant and fungal biodiversity for the benefit of our planet and humanity. 

In March 2021, RBG Kew launched its 10-year strategy Our Manifesto for Change 2021. The institution’s ultimate goal is step up to help to end the extinction crisis and contribute to creating a world where nature is protected, valued by all and managed sustainably. In the wake of a global pandemic, and with the future of the planet in peril, the strategy represents a public commitment by RBG Kew to do everything in its power to reverse the environmental devastation of biodiversity loss and climate change.  The five key priorities are 1) Delivering science-based knowledge and solutions to protect biodiversity and use natural resources sustainably 2) Inspiring people to protect the natural world 3) Training the next generation of experts: 4) Extending our reach 5) Influencing national and international opinion and policy. 

On May 25 2021 RBG Kew launched its new Sustainability Strategy – committing to become Climate Positive by 2030 and marking a step-change in our urgent action to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis.