In Kew Gardens in London, a greenhouse reopens after extensive renovations

London - The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the suburbs of London will reopen its extensive greenhouse after a five-year renovation. The repair costing £41 million (1.2 billion CZK) will allow the public to view approximately 10,000 plants from temperate climates from all around the world. Some parts of the building were stripped down to the skeleton and modernized. Over 5,200 liters of paint were needed for the coatings, and 15,000 glass panes had to be replaced.

The plants are sorted by their place of origin. They come from regions where they are not naturally exposed to frost. Some are extremely rare or very endangered, and their cultivation in the botanical garden is the only option for their survival.

Among the 1,500 different species is the extremely rare plant known as Wood's Hesperantha, which originates from the Republic of South Africa but is no longer found in the wild. It exists solely in botanical gardens and among private collectors. The tree has been nicknamed "the world’s loneliest plant" because there are only male specimens - all are offshoots from the one in Kew, which was acquired in the mid-19th century. For the tree to produce seeds, a female plant is needed.

The collections in the Kew greenhouse are supervised by Scott Taylor, who says that some passionate enthusiasts are still trying to find a female plant of Hesperantha. According to Taylor, this plant's case demonstrates the necessity of cultivating a "safety" group of individuals for endangered plant species. "In the case of some plants, of which only a few exist in nature, one fire, one earthquake and they disappear," he said.

As reported by the BBC, during the renovation of the greenhouse, 69,000 parts of the structure were removed, replaced, repaired, substituted, or cleaned. For the largest container vessels, cranes had to be used to lift them. Repairs were conducted from scaffolding totaling 180 kilometers in length. The repair required over 1,700 working days from 400 workers.

Naturalist Sir David Attenborough remarked that when he first visited the Kew Gardens, the entrance fee was a penny. "When I was tied to work in the BBC office and fell into depression, I used to come here on weekends. I took deep breaths because tropical breezes blew here. Plants can go extinct just like animal species. This is therefore a very significant institution," said Attenborough about the restored greenhouse, known from educational BBC programs.

The greenhouse will be open to the public from Saturday. The entrance fee is set at £16 (462 CZK).