Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Victorian botanical garden in Edgbaston, England.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens is a Victorian botanical garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham, made up of four glasshouses and a series of outdoor sections including a rose garden, a rock garden, and a children's discovery garden. The glasshouses display plants arranged by climate zone, from tropical to arid, on different levels.
The gardens were founded in 1829 by the Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society and opened in 1832 following designs by landscape gardener J.C. Loudon. Over time they shifted from a members-only scientific institution toward a public garden open to anyone.
The gardens are home to the British National Bonsai Collection, one of the most important of its kind in the country. The trees, shaped over many decades, come from different traditions and are displayed in a dedicated area that visitors can walk through at their own pace.
The gardens are in Edgbaston and are easiest to reach by bus or on foot from nearby residential streets. Comfortable walking shoes are a good idea, as the grounds cover a range of surfaces from paved paths to grass and gravel.
The glasshouses are currently being restored with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, one of the largest such projects involving Victorian glass structures in the country. Some areas are accessible to visitors during the works, making it possible to watch the restoration in progress.
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