Wakehurst Place and the Millennium Seed Bank

The 200 hectares (500 acres) at Wakehurst Place include walled gardens, water gardens, a wetland conservation area, woodland, lakes and ponds. Four National Collections plus rare and exotic plants from the Himalayas and the southern hemisphere, and the Millennium Seed Bank, are among the highlights. Wakehurst Place is administered and maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Wellcome Trust Millennium Building, adjacent to Wakehurst Place, aims to house seeds from ten per cent of the world’s flora by 2009, to save species from extinction in the wild. Enjoy the Millennium Seed Bank interactive public exhibition in the Orange Room and follow the journey of a seed from identification and collection, through to drying and cold storage in the massive underground vaults. The mansion in the grounds is used principally for education visits. Two rooms only (hall and former library) are open to visitors.