Among the Giants: A Year at the Kew Arboretum

A fascinating insight the life of trees at Kew Gardens - and those that care for them - over the course of a year.

Stretching across two-thirds of the Gardens, the arboretum at Kew surrounds the glasshouses in a leafy enclave to walk, wander and discover nature’s beauty. The 12,000 trees rooted in the arboretum represent more than 2,000 species, including rare and ancient varieties. This great collection contains trees as old as the Gardens themselves, many that cannot be found anywhere else in Britain.

But who looks after these vast landscapes?

Introducing the Tree Gang - Kew’s team of eight who work tirelessly throughout the year to maintain this rare collection.

In this new book from Kew, you’ll discover the fascinating work of the Tree Gang: the team of eight that care for the trees at Kew. Going behind the scenes, you’ll learn more about life at Kew from the people who tend and care for the Gardens - from the daily tree assessments to the intermittent tree felling. As the climate becomes more variable, the gang’s work is ever more crucial as they brace for the storms ahead.

The Kew Gardeners weaves together heartwarming stories alongside the fascinating life of trees. This book will inspire you to learn from the experts, and grow an appreciation for the trees around you.

Carolyn Fry is a science and environment writer and editor based in West Sussex, UK. She has written/co-authored 11 books on environmental and historical themes, and appeared in the BBC 2 documentary ’Cruikshank on Kew: The garden that changed the world’, to explain how plants were used to build the British Empire. Carolyn has also contributed news stories and articles to New Scientist, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, BBC History, BBC Earth, BBC Wildlife and more. She is a former Editor of Geographical, the Royal Geographical Society’s magazine. She has worked on a number of title for Kew and most recently published Trees: 10 Things You Should Know (Seven Dials).

Christina Harrison is the former editor of Kew Magazine. She trained as an ecologist and botanical horticulturalist and has an MA in Garden History, for which she specialized in the trees at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She is author or co-author of several books including Remarkable Trees (Thames & Hudson).