Richard Barley

Director of Horticulture, Learning and Operations, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Guest blogger for FCDO Editorial

Part of FCDO Outreach

11th November 2016 London, UK

Kew observes Remembrance Day 2016

The wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Remembrance Sunday is to be created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

As is the custom, Kew Gardens is providing a wreath to be laid on behalf of the Foreign Office at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. A second wreath is also laid at Kew’s own memorial, commemorating members of the Kew Guild and staff who fell in the First and Second World Wars.

Created by Kew horticulturalists Carlos Magdalena and Lorraine Barker, each wreath includes at least one plant from each of the fourteen overseas territories. The preparation begins by harvesting juniper which is planted into the sponge base of the wreath and trimmed down to form the foundation of the construction.

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The best sprigs and flowers from the Gardens are then collected to place on the wreath, with the most delicate specimens being added last. The diverse array of plants used includes Pelargonium cotyledonis (Old Father Live-for-ever) which is native to St. Helena, and Heliconia psittacorum (Parrot’s Plantain) which represents The British Virgin Islands.

Other plants in the wreath include moss from British Antarctic Territory, Ipomoea pes-caprae (Beach Morning Glory) from British Indian Ocean Territory, Myrtus communis (Common Myrtle) and Olea europaea (Olive) from Gibraltar, and a range of others from the Caribbean and southern Atlantic territories. Kew’s wreath is the only one laid at the Cenotaph made from living plants and flowers.

A two minute silence will be observed at Kew Gardens’ entrance gates at 11am on Armistice Day, 11 November, and on Remembrance Sunday, 13 November. On both days, the flag from the flagpole at Victoria Gate will fly at half-mast.

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