Royal Botanic Gardens Kew – Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Orchids at Kew Gardens

It’s celebration time for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as this is the 30th year of their much-loved Orchid exhibition, set within the rare and exotic planting in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

Orchids at Kew, February 2026 — The magnificent variety of Orchids on display at Kew Gardens

This year, China is the inspiration for the exhibition, in particular the Yunnan Province, where 1,000 species of Orchid are to be found.

Plant of the Month: Edgeworthia chrysantha (February 2026)

So far February 2026 has been very wet, with heavy and prolonged downpours, which has restricted everyone’s garden visits, including mine. So I’ve had help this month from Ali H (many thanks) in seeking out winter-flowering specimens that are looking at their finest at the moment and hopefully will be of interest to you.

Originating from China and the Himalayan regions, Edgeworthia chrysantha is related to the Daphne family and I am not surprised as the flower clusters are extremely fragrant. They appear on the tips of bare stems in late winter, then in spring covered in foliage, consisting of attractive slender leaves, making a nice rounded shape to fit within planting schemes.

Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Nanjing Gold' at RHS Wisley (Winter Walk) — *Edgeworthia* species, ‘Grandiflora’ (with bee!) and ‘Red Dragon’ at RHS Wisley

Outing to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for Orchid display

This year’s Orchid display, based on the beauty of Peru, is being show-cased in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The display is absolutely stunning and should not be missed.

The glasshouse is divided in two sections: the arid, dry zone, featuring cacti and succulents; and the lush, tropical zone. Within the dry zone several large containers of orchids and hanging orchid planters are on display but it’s the tropical zone that contains the main display and you won’t be disappointed.

Inspired by the Peruvian flag and coat of arms, the display centres on a cornucopia (an ornamental goat-horn), overflowing with orchids, to signify the abundance of mineral wealth of Peru. Adjacent (keeping guard?) stands a distant relative of the alpaca.

Chihuly glass sculptures at Kew Gardens

Thoroughly recommend visiting this exhibition if you can. We combined it with a visit to the Marianne North gallery and took all day over it. The sculptures are all based on plants and have been beautifully set around the gardens.