Hope Gardens
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Hope Gardens - Old Hope Road (Near to Papine)
Tel: 1 876 927-1257
If you're serching for a respite from the city, Hope Botanical Gardens offers the ideal oasis of tranquility.
Spread over 200 acres of land, Hope Gardens is the largest botanical gardens in the Caribbean.
The vast grounds include:-
- a cactus garden
- orchid house
- ornamental pond
- a "Palm Avenue" of sago palms
- greenhouses
- a forest garden
- bougainvillea walk
- zoo
- fountains
- bandstand
- poets corner
- lily pond
- plant nursery
History
Hope Gardens was originally part of "Hope Estate", which was owned and run by Richard Hope. Hope was a commander in the British army and was gifted the estateas a reward for helping Britain to take control of Jamaica from the Spanish. The original Hope Estate was a vast property, stretching from Newcastle (in the Blue Mountains) down to the sea.The estate was originally used as a sugar estate, however, in the late 1881, 200 acres of this property were purchased by the government to the establish an experimental garden for growing foreign species. It was through the botanical gardens that several exotic species such as coffee and pineapple were introduced to Jamaica. This experimental garden became what is now known as Hope Gardens.
One notable moment in the history of Hope Gardens was a visit from Queen Elizaber II in 1953. Following this visit, the Queen gave her permission for the garden to officially change its name to the "Royal Botanical Gardens, Hope"
The gardens are now maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture's Public Gardens Division and it has undergone some major restoration programs since 1996.
© 2007 Jamaica Travel and Culture .com
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