Kew Gardens to launch a Carbon Garden in July 2025

Kew Gardens has announced the upcoming launch of the Carbon Garden, a groundbreaking permanent installation opening in July 2025. Located within London’s iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Carbon Garden offers a scientific exploration of carbon’s role in the natural world and the climate crisis. Designed to educate and inspire, the installation will illustrate how carbon moves through ecosystems and spotlight nature-based solutions to climate change. It encourages visitors to reflect on the urgency of climate action and the power of natural systems to help restore ecological balance.

Carbon Garden design, Kew Gardens © Mizzi Studio

The Carbon Garden features a multi-layered experience, beginning with a bold display inspired by climate stripes, where herbaceous perennials depict the dramatic rise in global temperatures. From here, visitors will encounter a soil profile, a rocky outcrop, and an exposed coal seam, reminders of carbon’s presence below ground. A dry garden section showcases drought-tolerant species from Mediterranean regions, offering a glimpse into the future of climate-resilient planting. Elsewhere, newly planted trees, rain gardens, bioswales, grasslands, and native hedgerows will demonstrate the power of biodiversity to store carbon, regulate water, and foster ecological resilience.

At the heart of the Carbon Garden stands a central pavilion inspired by fungi, designed by Mizzi Studio. Constructed from low-carbon natural materials, the structure represents the vital symbiosis between fungi and plants. Its tilted canopy channels rainwater into the rain garden below, reinforcing the garden’s ecological message. The pavilion will host school visits and community events, supporting Kew’s ambition to turn visitors into advocates for nature. As designer Richard Wilford explains, the Carbon Garden is more than a horticultural showcase; it is “a call to action” that fuses cutting-edge science with compelling landscape design to inspire sustainable futures.

Carbon Garden design, Kew Gardens © Mizzi Studio

This ambitious project is underpinned by Kew’s pioneering scientific research. Through its Nature Unlocked programme at Wakehurst, and ongoing tree resilience studies at Kew Gardens, RBG Kew is at the forefront of understanding how ecosystems capture carbon and how plants can help combat the climate emergency. Funded by Biffa Award through the Landfill Communities Fund, as well as support from the People’s Postcode Lottery and philanthropic donors, the Carbon Garden is poised to become a vital public resource for climate education.

Location: Kew Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London, TW9 3AE. Price: from £22/ £8. Adult/ child. Book tickets