History
The Gardens are very old, being designed in 1829 by J. C. Loudon, a leading garden planner, horticultural journalist and publisher. The Gardens opened to the public in 1832.
The layout of the Botanical Gardens has changed very little since Loudon first designed it. There are four glasshouses which range from the exotic Tropical glasshouse, through to the Subtropical, Mediterranean and Arid Houses. There is a large lawn in front of the glasshouses with a range of beds and shrubberies around its perimeter. Overall, the character is that of a Victorian public park with a bandstand set in 15 acres (6.1 ha) of landscaped greenery. It is hard to believe that the beautiful and tranquil Gardens are located just one and a half miles from the centre of Birmingham.
Read more about this topic: Birmingham Botanical Gardens
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