Guyana Botanical Gardens is a tropical botanical garden in Georgetown,

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. It is next to the

Guyana Zoo Guyana Zoo (officially Guyana Zoological Park) is a zoo located in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. The zoo officially opened in 1952, but its grounds had been used as botanical gardens since 1895. Some of its most popular attractions are harpy ...

and Castellani House.

Description

It includes the Seven Ponds (the Place of Heroes), which is the burial sites of * Governor General David Rose * President

Desmond Hoyte Hugh Desmond Hoyte (9 March 1929 – 22 December 2002) was a Guyana, Guyanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Guyana from 1984 to 1985 and President of Guyana from 1985 until 1992. Early life and education Hoyte was born on 9 March ...

* President

Arthur Chung Arthur Raymond Chung (10 January 1918 – 23 June 2008) was a Guyanese politician who served as the first president of Guyana from 17 March 1970 to 6 October 1980.

* poet

Martin Carter Martin Wylde Carter (7 June 1927 – 13 December 1997) was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his p ...

* in a separate nearby mausoleum: Prime Minister

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Premier of British Guia ...

Near

the zoo ''The Zoo'' is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gi ...

(but outside of it), there are docile manatees in a pond. The first manatees were placed in the gardens in the 1870s. More captive manatees are at the

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

History

It was founded in the late 19th century, during the time of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, on an abandoned sugar estate, Plantation Vlissengen. At the time, it was at the eastern end of the city limits. An early garden superintendent was botanist George Samuel Jenman.

Environs

South of the gardens, across Homestretch Avenue is D’Urban Park, which includes the National Cultural Centre. It is bound by Vlissengen Road to the west, across which is Georgetown Football Club. It is a few blocks south of the

. The other public garden in Georgetown is the smaller Promenade Gardens downtown.

References

{{commons category Cemeteries in Guyana Gardens in Guyana Georgetown, Guyana

Description

History

Environs

See also

References