Hot Gardens for Winter Days Out
Escape the dusky afternoons to an exotic botanic garden
Travel across countries and continents (but stay warm and dry) with a visit to these great Victorian glasshouses and cutting-edge modern domes.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Cambridge
The 40-acre oasis lies close to the heart of the city. Opened to the public in 1846, this Grade II listed garden has a Glasshouse Range with climates from around the world. There are unique floras of temperate oceanic islands, plants from high alpine habitats and arid lands, species that create the high dense canopy and dark forest floor of a rainforest, and peculiar tropical plants found in Peru, the Philippines, and Belize in Central America. (The garden also has the finest collection of trees in the east of England.) More about Cambridge University Botanic Garden
The Eden Project
St Austell, Cornwall
Two truly gigantic, space-age conservatories recreate biomes, large natural habitats of flora. The Humid Tropics Biome is the largest conservatory in the world, where trees climb up to the 50-metre geodesic roof. The natural landscapes of the Mediterranean, South Africa and California are found in the Warm Temperate Biome, as well as many cultivated crops from these regions. Increasingly popular since its opening in March 2001, this potted world of plants and human society is a unique day out. More about the Eden Project
Bicton Park Botanical Gardens
Bicton, Devon
The magnificent Grade I listed gardens lie in the picturesque Otter valley, south-east of Exeter near the East Devon Heritage Coast. The 63 acres of parkland were landscaped in the 18th century, and the pioneering Palm House was built in the 1820s. Its curving design has 18,000 glass panes held by thin iron glazing bars, and the rare and beautiful palms provide a lush setting for civil marriages. Other houses show exotic blooms and strange desert plants. More about Bicton Park Botanical Gardens
Kew Gardens
Greater London
About a mile long and covering over 300 acres, Kew Gardens is an all-round attraction of beautiful garden walks and historic buildings. Built in 1844-48, the spectacular Palm House is a Victorian glasshouse on the big scale, designed to house tropical trees, shrubs and palms. The rubber and breadfruit trees are well-known crops, but other species here are among the world's rarest and most ancient. Nearby, the ornamental Temperate House, completed in 1899, is even larger, containing subtropical species from Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands, Africa and the Mediterranean, and not least the Chilean wine palm, the world's largest indoor plant. More about Kew Gardens
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
West Midlands
Opened in 1832, the 15-acre gardens include four glasshouses. The Tropical House creates the hot humid atmosphere of an equatorial rainforest, with water hyacinths floating among the tropical water plants on the 7.3-metre-wide lily pool. Rising to 8 metres, the large Subtropical House is big enough for palms, tree ferns, and a Norfolk Island pine, which originates from the small uninhabited island in the Pacific. There are citrus fruit trees in the Mediterranean House, and the Arid House has a desert scene with spiny agaves and prickly opuntias. More about Birmingham Botanical Gardens
The National Botanic Garden
Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire
The centrepiece of the 568 acres of historic parkland and modern gardens is the Great Glasshouse, the largest single-span glasshouse in the world. This amazing glass dome contains six zones that conserve endangered plants from Australia, California, the Canary Islands, Chile and South Africa. Rocky terraces, sandstone cliffs and scree slopes recreate a range of natural landscapes from these continents and countries. Opened in 2000, this is one of our youngest botanic gardens. More about the National Botanic Garden
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Established in 1670, the garden now covers over 70 acres and has a happy mixture of Victorian buildings and 10 modern glasshouses representing five climatic zones. The classical 1852 Temperate Palm House is Britain's tallest palm house at 23 metres high. Older still, the sub-tropical cycads in one of the glasshouses have been around since dinosaurs tramped the world, though these specimens are only just over 200 years old. More about the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow
The large parkland has several huge glasshouses, including the 1873 Kibble Palace. Originally used for concerts and events, it contains tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand and plants from Africa, the Americas and the Far East (even some carnivorous species). More about Glasgow Botanic Gardens
National Botanic Gardens
Glasnevin near Dublin
Situated north of the city centre, Ireland's premier botanic garden covers 48 acres and contains some 20,000 species and cultivated varieties. The four glasshouses include the cavernous Great Palm House, built in 1884 and a sight in itself, and the Curvilinear Range, which explores the mountains of the Philippines, Borneo and New Guinea, and the continents of South America, South Africa and Australia. More about the National Botanic Gardens
Botanic Gardens
Belfast
Set in popular gardens more plaza than park, the glass-domed Palm House of 1839-52 just pre-dates the one in Kew Gardens and is one of the earliest curved glass and iron structures in the world. The balcony in the 1889 Tropical Ravine house gives you a wonderful view through a steamy ravine full of exotic plants. More about the Botanic Gardens
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