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5 Episodes 2021 - 2021
Episode 1
44 mins
The series opens with 'Winter' and takes viewers to the banana plants in the iconic Palm House having a much-needed trim before they hit the glass roof, and visits the set-up for the 25th annual, and wonderfully vibrant, winter festival, Orchids. Kew scientist, Dr James Borrell, shares his research into enset, the plant dubbed the 'tree against hunger' providing the staple food for 20 million Ethiopians. We also visit Kew Gardens' 14,000 trees, planted in family groups, each with their own story to tell, being cared for by Kew's gravity defying Tree Gang. Storm Ciara sweeps in causing an unexpected closure of Kew Gardens.
Episode 2
44 mins
We are provided with a rare behind-the-scenes look into the preparation for the annual display in the Waterlily House, which sees the glasshouse go from empty to bursting point. At Wakehurst, Kew's wild botanic garden in Sussex, the focus is on its next big project: The American Prairie, and we follow the team as they prepare to sow the first seeds in this new landscape. Also featured is the world-famous Millennium Seed Bank in Wakehurst, the botanical Fort Knox that safeguards billions of the world's seeds, as it marks its 20th year.
Episode 3
44 mins
We find the Temperate House staff preparing the world's largest surviving Victorian glasshouse before it reopens to summer visitors. The Tropical Nursery team shows viewers how staff painstakingly hand-pollinate orchids, and we learn more about pollination from Kew scientist's Dr Hauke Koch and Professor Phil Stevenson. The Waterlily House is revisited with the team staying up late for a rare midnight bloom and reveals more about the design for the spectacular Broad Walk Borders at Kew Gardens. A visit to Wakehurst explores the team's work to combat Ash Dieback, which is threatening the survival of ash trees across the UK and Europe. The first event of the summer at Kew Gardens, the Summer Cycle, hangs in the balance as thunderstorms encroach.
Episode 4
44 mins
As Autumn approaches, we visit the Kitchen Garden at Kew Gardens as produce is harvested for onsite restaurants, and viewers learn more about how scientists at RBG Kew are collecting wild relatives of major food crops to help ensure their survival. We visit Wakehurst to see conservation grazing in action, which features some very skillful and entertaining herding of the resident flock of sheep across the Gardens. The Alpine team at Kew Gardens share a behind-the-scenes insight as they care for the 7,000 strong Alpine bulb collection. As the winter winds hit Kew Gardens, viewers see how the Tree Gang tackles one of their toughest challenges yet, as they remove a fallen tree from the lake.
Episode 5
45 mins
Follows Christmas celebrations at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as staff prepare for one of their busiest times of year. Vegetables are prepared ready for a special feast and lights are hung from Britian's tallest living Christmas tree.