What’s on
Four exhibitions a year, walks, talks and family days, plus courses and school visits taught by the growers. Almost all of it is included with garden entry.
- Biggest show
- Orchid WeeksMid January to early March
- Exhibitions
- Four a yearOne for every season
- Courses
- From £12Taught by the growers
- School visits
- £4.50 a pupilKey Stages 1 to 4
Orchid Weeks
For seven weeks the Temperate House fills with orchids from our own collection and three specialist nurseries: moth orchids in cascades from the roof girders, slipper orchids at eye level and a wall of Dendrobium over the pond.
- Every day
- 10 am to 4.30 pm
- Thursday lates
- Until 8 pm, from February
- Orchid care clinic
- Saturdays at 11 am
- Price
- Included with garden entry
Through the year
The plants set the calendar, so it barely changes. Here is what to come back for.
FebruarySundaysSnowdrop SundaysGuided walks through the beech woodland at 11 am and 2 pm, when the drifts are at their best.
Half termsDailySeed detectivesA trail through all four glasshouses with a notebook, a puzzle at each stop and a stamp to collect.
MayTwo weeksThe spring plant fairSpecialist nurseries on the Long Walk, and cuttings from our own collection.
Jul and AugThursdaysSummer latesThe garden stays open until 8 pm, with music on the lawn and supper in the Orangery.
OctoberThree weeksAutumn colourThe arboretum at its peak, with tree walks led by the curators.
DecemberWeekendsWinter wreathsWreath-making in the potting shed with holly, ivy and dried flowers from the garden.
Every week
Some things do not need a date in the calendar. These run all year and are included with entry.
Saturday tours
A gardener-led hour through two glasshouses, included with entry.
First Thursday talks
An evening talk in the Orangery, from orchid hunters to soil science.
Members’ mornings
The gates open an hour early for members, with coffee in the Orangery.
Quiet hour
Mist and music off in every house, for visitors who prefer it calm.
Adult courses
Every subject runs at least once a month, in groups of twelve or fewer. Materials, tea and cake are included.
Botanical drawingLeaves, stems and seed heads in pencil and watercolour, drawn from the living collection.From £85
PropagationCuttings, division and seed, in the nursery with the people who raise our plants.From £45
Orchid careWatering, light and repotting, with the team behind Orchid Weeks.From £35
Winter pruningFruit trees, roses and shrubs in the walled garden, with secateurs in hand.From £75
Pressing plantsCollect, press and mount a specimen the way the herbarium has since 1868.From £55
First Thursday talksAn hour in the Orangery with a curator, an explorer or a visiting scientist.From £12
School visits
Curriculum-linked sessions taught inside the glasshouses. £4.50 a pupil, accompanying adults free, and a free planning visit for teachers.
Seeds on the move
Helicopters, hooks and hitchhikers: how seeds travel, with a seed hunt in the Fern House.
Rainforest senses
Smell, touch and listen your way through the Palm House, with a sound map to take back to class.
Minibeast safari
Pots, lenses and a log pile in the woodland. Who lives where, and why.
Rainforest adaptations
Drip tips, buttress roots and climbing stems, recorded in field notebooks in the Palm House.
Pollination detectives
Dissect a flower, meet the pollinators and work out which flower each one visits.
Plants we eat
Cocoa, vanilla, coffee and banana growing under glass, and the journeys they make to our shops.
Four climates, one hour
Measure temperature, humidity and light in each house and explain what the plants are doing about it.
Cactus or fern?
Adaptation and natural selection, comparing the Arid House with the Fern House.
Keys and classification
Build a dichotomous key from real herbarium sheets.
Sampling biodiversity
Quadrats and transects on the meadow and the lawn, for the required practical.
Transpiration practical
Potometers in the Cloud Forest and the Arid House, and why the numbers differ.
Careers in plant science
Horticulture, conservation, research and the herbarium, with the people who do the jobs.
Hire the glasshouses
Weddings, dinners and private views in the Temperate House and the Orangery, after the gates have closed.