Botanic Gardens is a public garden in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland. Occupying of south Belfast, the gardens are popular with office workers, students and tourists. They are located on Stranmillis Road in Queen's Quarter, with Queen's University nearby. The

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

is located at the main entrance.

History

The gardens opened in 1828 as the private Royal Belfast Botanical Gardens. It continued as a private park for many years, only opening to members of the public on Sundays prior to 1895. Then it became a public park in 1895 when the Belfast Corporation bought the gardens from the Belfast Botanical and Horticultural Society. The Belfast Corporation was the predecessor of

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

, the present owner.

The Palm House

The gardens' most notable feature is the

Palm House Palm house is a term sometimes used for large and high heated display greenhouses that specialise in growing arecaceae, palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. In Victorian era, Victorian Britain, several ornate glass and iron palm house ...

conservatory. The foundation stone was laid by the

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Si ...

in 1839 and work was completed in 1840. It is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

glasshouses in the world. Designed by Charles Lanyon and built by Richard Turner, Belfast's Palm House predates the glasshouses at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

and the

Irish National Botanic Gardens The National Botanic Gardens (Irish: ''Garraithe Náisiúnta na Lus'') is a botanical garden in Glasnevin, 5 km north-west of Dublin city centre, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The 19.5 hectares are situated between Glasnevin Cemetery and t ...

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

, both of which Turner went on to build. The Palm House consists of two wings, the cool wing and the tropical wing. Lanyon altered his original plans to increase the height of the latter wing's dome, allowing for much taller plants. In the past these have included an 11 metre tall globe spear lily. The

lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

, which is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, finally bloomed in March 2005 after a 23-year wait. The Palm House also features a 400-year-old ''

Xanthorrhoea ''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of Succulent plant, succulent flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae. They are Endemism, endemic to Australia. Common names for the plants include grasstree, grass gum-tree (for resin-yie ...

''. Image:Plaque in Palm House.jpg, Plaque in three languages Image:Early Spring in Palm House, Botanic Gardens, Belfast.jpg, Early spring flowers Image:Urn, Palm House.JPG, Urn Image:Aloe Saponaria.jpg, '' Aloe saponaria''

Other features

The gardens contain another glasshouse, the Tropical Ravine House. Built by head gardener Charles McKimm in 1889, it features a unique design. A sunken ravine runs the length of the building, with a balcony at each side for viewing. The most popular attraction is the ''

Dombeya ''Dombeya'' is a flowering plant genus. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometim ...

'', which flowers every February. The Palm House and the Tropical Ravine House were symbols of Belfast's growing industrial might and prosperity in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

and attracted over 10,000 visitors a day. The gardens also feature one of the longest

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

aceous borders in the UK and Ireland. There is also a rose garden built in 1932 and various species of tree, including the hornbeam-

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. A statue of

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (26 June 182417 December 1907), was a British mathematician, Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and engineer. Born in Belfast, he was the Professor of Natural Philosophy (Glasgow), professor of Natur ...

stands at the Stranmillis Road entrance. File:Belfast Botanic Gardens glasshouse.jpg, The Palm House File:Botanic Green in Winter, December 2010.jpg, Botanic Green in winter File:Inside Palm House.JPG, Inside the Palm House File:Botanic gardens belfast sign post.JPG, Botanic park sign post File:Lord Kelvin, Botanic park Belfast.jpg, Belfast born

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

at the entrance to the Botanic gardens File:Tropical Ravine House, Belfast Sept 2018 10.jpg, Tropical Ravine House in 2018, after refurbishment

Concerts

Concerts and

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s are held at the Stranmillis Embankment end of the gardens. From 2002 to 2006 the Tennents ViTal festival was held in the gardens. Performers included

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

, Franz Ferdinand,

The Coral The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album ''The Coral (album), The Coral'', from which came the single "Dreaming of You (T ...

The Streets The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

and

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

. In 2006

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

The Raconteurs The Raconteurs (, also known as The Saboteurs in Australia) are an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 2005. The band consists of Jack White (vocals, guitar), Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar), Jack Lawrence (bass guitar), and ...

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

played at the festival. On 26 August 1997 U2 played their first Belfast concert in over a decade as part of the

PopMart Tour The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 1997 album '' Pop'', the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks in 1997 and 1998. Much like the band's previous Zoo TV Tour ...

. 40,000 fans attended, with thousands more lining the perimeter fence and watching from rooftops on Ridgeway Street. Local band Ash and

Howard B Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard (surname), Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no parti ...

were the support acts.

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

was due to perform in the Botanic Gardens on 29 May 1999 during her

Let's Talk About Love World Tour The Let's Talk About Love World Tour was the ninth concert tour by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion. Visiting North America, Asia and Europe; the trek supported Dion's fifth English and fifteenth studio album ''Let's Talk About Love'' (1997 ...

, however the show was cancelled along with her performance in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 27 May 1999.

In popular culture

*While the consumption of alcohol is banned within the park, groups of young people drinking are common during the summer months. The opening scene of Colin Bateman's novel '' Divorcing Jack'' finds the protagonist Dan Starkey with a crate of

Harp Lager Harp Lager is an Irish lager created in 1960. Since 2013, it has been produced by the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. Prior to this, it was produced at the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk. It is a major lager brand throughout most of Northern Ire ...

in the gardens. *The park figures prominently in '' The Fall'', as it is the favorite destination of young Olivia "Livvy" Spector, whose serial killer father, (Peter) Paul Spector, and babysitter Katie both take her there, on different occasions. CCTV captures Spector's presence there on the same Saturday as one of his victims, Sarah Kay, whose sister tells the police the siblings met there weekly. Indeed, by eavesdropping on the sisters' conversation at the park that day (in series 1), Spector learns Sarah Kay has not changed her back door locks, which knowledge he uses to his advantage. And in series 2, when Katie takes Livvy out of school without the Spectors' knowledge or permission, Paul finds them there, on a hunch.

Botanic Station

Frequent trains operated by

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR; and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways; UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Tr ...

run to Botanic railway station.

References

External links

Belfast Botanic GardensPalm HouseTropical RavineFriends of Belfast Botanic Gardens
{{Authority control Botanical gardens in Northern Ireland Gardens in Belfast Greenhouses in the United Kingdom Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest