Behind the collection: Get lost in Kew
To celebrate the much welcome warm weather we’re currently enjoying, we wanted to take a moment to focus on our range inspired by wildflowers and sunshine yellow. This Caroline Gardner collection takes you on a Spring stroll through Kew, home of Kew Gardens, a wild botanic garden with 500 acres of woodland and the world's largest seed conservation project.
Kew Gardens is one of Caroline Gardner's favourite landmarks in London. Only 35 minutes from the Caroline Gardner's head office, this botanical heaven has been the inspiration behind our Spring and Summer 2022 collection. Inspired by wildflowers of the UK, our bestselling floral design – initially created for our ‘fleur’ card range – has been reinvented for stationery and fashion accessories, paired with lively yellow textures and contrasted with our signature charcoal spot to give this collection its city edge. The colour palette features feminine pastels of pale pink, peach, and pale blue, offset with brighter pops of yellow and red to recreate the variety of beautiful and colourful wildflowers.
About Kew Gardens
The botanical Gardens in Kew extend for more than 320 acres and host the world’s most diverse range of living plants. Plants and flowers from all over the world can thrive in these gardens thanks to glasshouses that recreate the perfect habitat for the flora of the gardens. Some of the most famous and spectacular greenhouses are the Arboretum, home to 2,000 varieties of trees, the Palm House, hosting the world’s most ancient pot plant and the Princess of Wales Conservatory, where plants from 10 different climatic zones have found the perfect living conditions.
‘Grow wild’ is the national outreach programme of the Royal Botanic Gardens, on a mission to bring people together to value and enjoy UK-native wildflowers, plants, and fungi.
Wildflowers and wildflower-rich habitats, such as meadows, provide valuable support for insects and other wildlife. Pollinators – bees, butterflies, moths, flies, wasps and more – rely on wildflowers as a vital source of food. In turn, 60 to 80 per cent of the world’s flowering plant species rely on animals to pollinate them. Insects that feed on wildflowers also provide a food source for other animals and help to reduce the number of pests like that attack crops.
The ‘grow wild’ project aims to bring people together to value and enjoy UK-native wildflowers. Sowing wildflower seeds and watching them grow is a low-effort, high-reward activity for even the least green-fingered amongst us, and you can grow them pretty much anywhere: in containers, gardens, or unloved urban spaces. Lots of studies have even demonstrated the wellbeing benefits of burying our hands in the soil, too. Follow the link> to read more and see how you can get involved.
