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Garden Name: National Botanic Gardens
Last Modified: 19/01/2010
Garden ID: 0481

pic: 0481_natBotWales.jpg

Owner: Dœchas
Address:
Glasnevin
Dublin 9

Postcode: 
County: Republic of Ireland

tel: 00353 1 837 4388
fax: 00353 1 836 0080
website: www.botanicgardens.ie
email: botanicscentre {at} opw.ie

Features: 
Impressive range of glasshouses, including Richard Turner's Curvilinear Range. Huge collection of plant species, Herbarium and Botanical Library.

English Heritage Grade:


Opening Times:
All year, Summer, Mon - Sun; 9am - 6pm, Sun 9am - 6pm
Winter, Mon - Sun; 9am - 4.30pm. Glasshouse close 15 mins. before closing time.
Closed Christmas Day

Best Times of Year to Visit: 
All year round interest

To see: 


National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: Appointment required.

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments: Guided tours available for groups 

House Open for Viewing: No
Comments: 

Admission Prices:
Free. Small car park charge (€ 2).
General guided tours available @ € 2 per person, advanced booking necessary. Note - Tours without advance booking may not be possible as the staff may not be available.
Free guided tours on Sundays at 12noon and 2.30pm.

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: No
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: No
Dogs allowed: No
Only on Lead: No
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
Visitor Centre. Multi-lingual audio visual presentation, lasting 12 minutes on the gardens, their history, the collections and special features.


Designer: 
Description of Garden:
This is Ireland's premier Botanic Gardens with a huge collection of approximately 16,000 species and cultivars. The Gardens cover approximately 48 acres (19.5 ha) and include a spectacular range of four glasshouses dominated by Richard Turner's architectural masterpiece, the recently restored Curvilinear Range and Great Palm House.

Notable features of the gardens are the rockery, herbaceous borders, the rose garden, alpine yard, organic fruit and vegetable garden, arboretum, extensive shrub collections and wall plants. Last but not least is the Herbarium, with a million dried plant specimens, and the comprehensive botanical Library.


History: 
Following a petition to the Irish Parliament in 1790, the gardens were founded five years later at Glasnevin to promote the scientific study of agriculture, however by the 1830's the study of botany had overtaken that of agriculture, assisted by the arrival of plants from around the world and by close contact with the botanical gardens of Kew and Edinburgh. By 1838 the basic shape of the gardens had been established largely due to the curator Ninian Niven. His successor, David Moore, became the outstanding contributor to the gardens, working with the great Dublin ironmaster, Richard Turner, to build the great glasshouses to house his burgeoning collections of tropical and temperate climate plants. As happened at Kew, the son of the great curator proved to have as much ability as his father and Frederic Moore, after taking over at a young age, duly established the gardens at Glasnevin as one of the great botanical collections of the world.

In 1968 it was recognised that the scientific side of the operations needed to be strengthened and the post of Plant Taxonomist was re-established for the first time since the death of the then Scientific Superintendent of the gardens, William Ramsay McNab in 1889. Following this the National Herbarium was transferred from the National Museum in 1970 and a new herbarium and library was opened in 1997. The great Turner Curvilinear Range of glasshouses were restored and opened for the bicentenary of the gardens in 1995. Restoration work and expansion of facilities has continued and includes new educational rooms and lecture halls and visitor facilities.

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