Botanic Gardens (Belfast) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Botanic Gardens Belfast |
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Palm House and flower bed
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| Type | Botanical |
| Location | Belfast, County Down |
| Area | 28 acres (110,000 m2) |
| Owned by | Belfast City Council |
| Status | Open All Year |
| Collections |
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| Public transit access | Botanic railway station |
| Website | Botanic Gardens |
Botanic Gardens is a beautiful public park in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It's a popular spot for everyone, from students to tourists.
This amazing garden covers about 28 acres (11 hectares) in south Belfast. You can find it on Stranmillis Road, close to Queen's University. The Ulster Museum is also right at the main entrance.
Contents
History of the Gardens
The Botanic Gardens first opened in 1828. Back then, it was a private park called the Royal Belfast Botanical Gardens. For many years, only members could visit.
Before 1895, the public could only enter on Sundays. But in 1895, the Belfast Corporation bought the gardens. This made it a public park for everyone to enjoy. Today, the Belfast City Council owns and looks after the gardens.
The Amazing Palm House
One of the most famous parts of the gardens is the Palm House. This is a special glass building called a conservatory. Its first stone was laid in 1839, and it was finished in 1840.
The Palm House is one of the oldest curved cast iron glasshouses in the world. Charles Lanyon designed it, and Richard Turner built it. This building was made even before similar ones at Kew and the Irish National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin. Richard Turner also built those later!
The Palm House has two main parts: a cool wing and a tropical wing. The tropical wing's dome was made extra tall. This allows very tall plants, like an 11-meter-tall globe spear lily, to grow inside. You can also see a 400-year-old Xanthorrhoea plant here.
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Plaque in three languages
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Early spring flowers
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Urn
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Aloe saponaria
Other Cool Features
The gardens have another glasshouse called the Tropical Ravine House. Charles McKimm, the head gardener, built it in 1889. It has a unique design with a sunken path and balconies for viewing. The Dombeya plant is a popular attraction here, flowering every February.
The Palm House and Tropical Ravine House showed how strong Belfast's industries were in the Victorian era. They used to attract over 10,000 visitors every day!
The gardens also have one of the longest herb borders in the UK and Ireland. There's a lovely rose garden too, built in 1932. You can also find different types of trees, like the hornbeam-oak. A statue of Lord Kelvin stands at the Stranmillis Road entrance.
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The Palm House
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Botanic Green in winter
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Inside the Palm House
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Botanic park sign post
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Belfast born physicist Lord Kelvin at the entrance to the Botanic gardens
Concerts and Events
The Botanic Gardens is also a place for fun concerts and music festivals. These events usually happen at the Stranmillis Embankment end of the gardens.
From 2002 to 2006, the Tennents ViTal festival was held here. Many famous bands played, including Kings of Leon and Snow Patrol.
On August 26, 1997, the band U2 played their first Belfast concert in over ten years. About 40,000 fans came to see them!
Getting There
You can easily get to the Botanic Gardens by train. Frequent trains run to Botanic railway station, operated by Northern Ireland Railways.
Images for kids
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Tropical Ravine House in 2018, after refurbishment
See also
In Spanish: Jardín botánico de Belfast para niños
