There's a new mixed media exibit at Kew... plants and glass sculptures on integrated display. Space and Culture has the scoop: "'It was not until the nineteenth century that glasshouses, as they were known, came to play a large role in social and cultural life. By this time, they were common in botanical gardens and universities, where they were primarily used for cultivating, studying, and experimenting with newly discovered plants. They had also become an accessory of the landed gentry, built on private estates for the purpose of growing the exotic and sometimes tender plants that some aristocrat had brought back from foreign travels. Often extensions of the home itself, it was only a matter of time before private glasshouses were used by family residents for reading, strolling, and entertaining. This was a social function that was markedly non-horticultural. It changed the way plants were treated forever, as they took on a much wider universe of meaning and significance..."

Read the whole thing & check out the great images.

Filed in: public-spaces, culture, urban