Botanical garden stories

A botanical garden, sometimes known as a botanic garden, is a garden that exists for scientific research and conservation, as well as public enjoyment and education. Botanical gardens are popular visitor attractions worldwide and welcome millions of visitors each year. Alongside the living horticultural specimens, visitors can often enjoy exhibitions and art installations, historic greenhouses, and live events.

Many specialise in a particular plant collection. For example, cacti, alpines, or roses. These organisations are scientific bodies. Their collections are organised, catalogued bodies that are subject to rigorous study. In addition to sharing these plant and flower specimens with the public, many botanical gardens also work to operate sustainably and enhance their visitors’ understanding of wider environmental issues.

The best botanical gardens worldwide include Kew Gardens in London, UK. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has a world-class living plant collection of over 50,000 specimens and the largest Victorian greenhouse in the world. Its sister attraction, Wakehurst in southern England, is home to the Millennium Seed Bank, which conserves 2.4 billion seeds from around the world.

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is one of Asia’s top garden destinations, renowned for its award-winning cooled conservatories and distinctive ‘Supertrees’. Gardens by the Bay includes three waterfront gardens and features the Flower Dome, the largest glass greenhouse in the world.

Missouri Botanical Garden, founded in 1859, is the oldest botanical garden in continuous operation in the US and is also a National Historic Landmark. The attraction is also a centre for botanical research and science teaching. It features 79 acres of horticultural display, including a 14-acre Japanese garden, historical buildings, and one of the world’s greatest collections of rare and endangered flora.