A Year at Kew

Épisode 1 - Pets in the Palm House

27 août 2004

The tree gang, headed by Jon Hammerton, deal with a diseased tree, while in the Palm house, keeper Emma Fox is on the attack against a plague of thrips. Outside, preparations for a giant badger sett are also underway.

Épisode 2 - Titan Arum Opens

3 septembre 2004

Displays co-ordinator Phil Griffiths prepares the mighty titan arum for its moment of glory, watched eagerly by Kew's expert in foul smells, Dr Geoffrey Kite. Elsewhere the team put the final touches to the Go Wild festival and the tree gang deal with a giant bamboo emergency in the Palm House.

Épisode 3 - Summer Planting

10 septembre 2004

It's all hands on deck as the biggest planting of the year gets underway. Sarah Smith and her team have just four days to transform the Palm House border. The tree gang help out with a project at a local school and the Orangery hosts its annual charity auction.

Épisode 4 - The Plant Auction

17 septembre 2004

The world's leading expert of Madagascan palms, John Dransfield is on the hunt for an exotic palm that's facing extinction, while Steve Ketley, Keeper of the fern collection has some giant moth coccoons to find a home for. Elsewhere Emma Fox is coaxing the giant waterlily into growth.

Épisode 5 - Summer Swing Concerts

24 septembre 2004

It's a nail-biting time as Head of Horticulture Nigel Taylor waits for news about UNESCO World Heritage status for the gardens and Emma Fox taks on the role of a nocturnal beetle to pollinate the giant water lilies. Beneath the Palm House Pete Morris dons his waders to restock the marine display.

Épisode 6 - The Drought

8 octobre 2004

Arboretum manager Ray Townsend and his team are hard at work irrigating the gardens during the hottest summer for years, while arboretum head Tony Kirkham travels to Italy to search for matching pairs of mature trees for the Pagoda vista.

Épisode 7 - Cyad Cones

15 octobre 2004

The tree team are called to the Palm House to tackle a tree that is giving cause for concern. Ray Townsend travels to Japan to collect specimens and Tony Kirkham uses the old-fashioned methods of harvesting wheat, and with a bit of help, makes his own loaf of bread.

Épisode 8 - Japanese Surprise

22 octobre 2004

A small Japanese island is the destination for Ray Townsend as he attempts to bring back a record breaking number of seeds. Phil Griffiths has a lucky day when he discover a large tree trunk that is perfect for one of his displays in the Princess of Wales Greenhouse.

Épisode 9 - The Autumn Festival

29 octobre 2004

Ray Townsend meets a fellow bamboo expert while asking for directions in Japan, while back at the gardens Phil Griffiths creates a stunning display of pumpkins and gourds. In one of the galleries a scholarship student is displaying her botanical artwork

Épisode 10 - Seed Collecting in Madagascar

5 novembre 2004

The curator of the Millennium Seed Bank, Stuart Cable, travels to Madagascar to collect seeds from endangered species and Sarah Smith and Emma Gardner delve into the past when an archaeological dig begins at Kew Palace. Randall Keynes the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin pays a visit to the gardens in search of a rare rhododendron.

Épisode 11 - Problems with the Cold

12 novembre 2004

A fault is detected in the heating system for the Palm and Waterlilly houses, putting the exotic specimens in the Waterlily house at risk. Tony Kirkham plants the new trees that have arrived from Italy and Stuart Cable continues his seed collecting trip in Madagascar

Épisode 12 - The Orchid Festival

19 novembre 2004

As the seasons turn full circle, the tree gang gears up for the spring. Tony Hall gives the new students advice on replanting islands in the lake and there is great excitement as the world's oldest pot plant is about to produce a cone.

Épisode 1 - Visit from Her Majesty the Queen

18 août 2005

All the teams are busy preparing the Palm house and rest of the gardens for a visit from Her Majesty the Queen, to mark the Kew's World Heritage Site status. The Tree Anatomy unit helps out HM Customs and excise and the wild flower meadow comes to life.

Épisode 2 - Gardens Closed

25 août 2005

Disaster stikes as bad weather forces the gardens to close for the first time in 15 years. This hampers preparations for the visit of Prince Charles and Prince Turki of Saudi Arabia as they arrive to plant some new palm trees. Kath King explains her feeding regimes for the carnivorous plant collection and the display team have some leaf cutter ants to deal with

Épisode 3 - Jodrell Laboratory

1 septembre 2005

The morning after the storm the staff assess the damage, while Dave Barnes and his team manoeuvre the new palms into position ready for planting. In the Jodrell Laboratory, Mike Fay examines the DNA of the rare red helleborine.

Épisode 4 - Kew's Country Garden - Wakehurst Place

8 septembre 2005

At Kew's country garden, Wakehurst Place, Steve Robinson is hard at work making charcoal, while Margaret Leigh prepares for the annual plant auction. In the bamboo garden, Ray Townsend answers a call for help from London Zoo and the tree gang deal with an Italian poplar that stands in the way of the Jodrell Laboratory extension.

Épisode 5 - St Helena

15 septembre 2005

Steve Alton travels to St Helena to collect seed of the island's unique plantlife for the Millenium Seedbank, while back at Wakehurst Place a rare cabbage plant is being transferred to Kew. The marathon pruning session begins on the rose pergola and a new recruit to the tree gang gets a lesson from Andy McClure, Kew's oldest tree surgeon.

Épisode 6 - The Mycology Department Surveys the Fungi

22 septembre 2005

Head of the Arboretum, Tony Kirkham, fights to save one of Kew's oldest trees, a Ginkgo biloba. Elsewhere the mycology department surveys the fungi of the gardens and Roselle Andrews creates a special wreath for Remembrance Sunday.

Épisode 7 - Victorian Taxonomic Dispute

29 septembre 2005

Botanist Bill Baker solves a victorian taxonomic dispute and pays tribute to John Dransfield who is retiring. Ray Townsend gets to work creating an authentic Zen garden around the Japanese Gateway and Kew provides a home for 50 chameleons seized by customs.

Épisode 8 - Chihuly Exhibition

6 octobre 2005

Seed collectors from the Millenium Seedbank find out that simple tasks can be tough in Burkina Faso. Back at the gardens work begins to assemble the first sculpture for the controversial Chihuly exhibition. Elsewhere the keepers of the Palm house and Temperate house go head to head at the RHS London Show.

Épisode 9 - Wollemi Pine

13 octobre 2005

Michiel Van Slageren uses local knowledge to find new species for the Millennium Seedbank in Mali. Curator of the spirit collection, Emma Treadwell looks after some new additions and displays curator Phil Griffiths commissions some new pots for the Temperate House. The world's media descend on the gardens to see the rare Wollemi pine.

Épisode 10 - Volunteers Tackle an Invasive Weed

20 octobre 2005

In the Jodrell Laboratory, Olwen Grace examines the chemical properties of aloes while outside a team of 300 volunteers tackle an invasive weed. Inside the Temperate house, it's organised chaos as the final preparations for the Chihuly exhibiton are underway and a bedding scheme with a difference is designed outside the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

Épisode 11 - Episode 11

27 octobre 2005

Documentary on the work of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. A controversial public arts display causes problems.

Épisode 12 - Episode 12

27 octobre 2005

Documentary on the work of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. A controversial public arts display causes problems.

Épisode 1 - Episode 1

5 janvier 2007

Michael PALIN opens the Alpine House.

Épisode 2 - Episode 2

12 janvier 2007

Christine Leon goes to China, following in the footsteps of Kew's heroic plant hunters.

Épisode 3 - Episode 3

19 janvier 2007

Hugh Pritchard from Wakehurst Place investigates and germinates seeds dating back to 1801.

Épisode 4 - Episode 4

26 janvier 2007

A heritage festival is held to celebrate plants, buildings and the people that make Kew great.

Épisode 5 - Episode 5

2 février 2007

Kew staffer Simon Cole helps a local primary school build a pond and wildlife garden.

Épisode 6 - Episode 6

9 février 2007

Scientist, Hazel Wilkinson plays a role in solving a serious crime.

Épisode 7 - Episode 7

16 février 2007

With one of the hottest July's on record, the team examine how trees survive drought.

Épisode 8 - Episode 8

23 février 2007

Épisode 9 - Episode 9

2 mars 2007

The team visit Montserrat, planting vegetables, and a Lay White Beam tree.

Épisode 10 - Episode 10

16 mars 2007

It's deep winter and staff are preparing for the future.