88 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
The Cedar 
Avenue. 
and stateliness worthy of Kew, were laid down in 1845 soon after the 
gardens became public, but the Sion Vista was not completed until 
1851. They were designed by W. A. Nesfield, and have been 
popular promenades ever since their construction. 
Another important avenue connecting the Sion Vista with the 
Pagoda Vista was made during the directorate of Sir Joseph Hooker. 
It is known as the Cedar Avenue, being planted on each 
side with Mount Atlas cedars. Having the Pagoda 
as terminal at one end, it affords a striking prospect. 
It is now one of the arterial routes in Kew, and, unfortunately, has 
proved too narrow to bear the crowded traffic of these busy days. 
The maintenance of the turf in good condition is now a troublesome 
matter. 
Several other avenues were made by Sir Joseph Hooker, who 
frequently employed the trees belonging to the botanical collections 
for the purpose. The idea was a happy one, because it brought 
together closely allied and interesting trees in a way that made them 
easy to examine and compare, and at the same time created some 
charming effects. Among these avenues is one composed of Crataegus 
(thorns) and Pyrus (crabs and their allies). In spring, when all in 
this group flower almost simultaneously, a most beautiful display is 
made. This is called the Thom Avenue. The Holly Walk is an 
avenue planted with the most complete collection of hollies in any 
public garden ; it is a fine feature at any time, but delightful in mid- 
winter. The Acacia Avenue, near the Pagoda, planted with species 
and varieties of Robinia and Gleditschia, and an avenue of sweet 
chestnuts and oaks near the Sion Vista, are also interesting and 
effective. 
All these avenues are formal in character — that is to say, the trees 
are planted at equal distances and in straight lines. We owe to 
Sir William Thiselton-Dyer a further and more artistic 
development. During his directorate a large number of 
vistas, informal in character and of varying width, were 
opened up. They have no formal alignment, but are rather sylvan 
glades with an irregular bordering of trees. Some of them, such as 
the Woodland Walk, the Old Oak Avenue, and the Tulip Tree Avenue, 
traverse the more finely-timbered tracts of Kew, inviting one in summer 
by the pleasant shade they afford and interesting tree-lovers by the 
gnarled trunks of oak and the wide-spreading beeches they reveal. 
Informal 
Vistas. 
