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The National Botanic Gardens (Irish: ''Garraithe Náisiúnta na Lus'') is a
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
in
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 ...
, 5 km north-west of
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 ...
city centre,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The 19.5 hectares are situated between
Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...
and the
River Tolka The River Tolka (; , "the flood"), also once spelled ''Tolga'', is one of Dublin's three main rivers, flowing from County Meath to Fingal within the old County Dublin, and through the north of Dublin city, Ireland (the other main rivers are t ...
where it forms part of the river's
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
. The gardens were founded in 1795 by the Dublin Society (later the Royal Dublin Society) and are today in State ownership through the
Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) (; legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Government of Ireland, Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of owned and ren ...
. They house approximately 20,000 living plants and many millions of dried plant specimens. There are several architecturally notable greenhouses. The Glasnevin site is the headquarters of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland which has a satellite garden and
arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...
at Kilmacurragh in
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
. The gardens participate in national and international initiatives for
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
conservation and
sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
. Director of the Gardens Dr.
Matthew Jebb Matthew Hilary Peter Jebb (born 1958) is an Irish people, Irish botany, botanist and taxonomy (biology), taxonomist specialising in the ant plant genus, genera ''Squamellaria'', ''Myrmecodia'', ''Hydnophytum'', ''Myrmephytum'' and ''Anthorrhiza' ...
, is also Chairman of PlantNetwork: The Plant Collections Network of Britain and Ireland. It is Ireland's seventh most visited attraction, and the second most visited free attraction.


History

Poet
Thomas Tickell Thomas Tickell (17 December 1685 – 23 April 1740) was a minor England, English poet and man of letters. Life The son of a clergyman, he was born at Bridekirk near Cockermouth, Cumberland. He was educated at St Bees School 1695–1701, and in ...
owned a house and small estate in Glasnevin and, in 1795, they were sold to the Irish Parliament and given to the
Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...
for them to establish Ireland's first botanic gardens. A double line of
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...
trees, known as "Addison's Walk" survives from this period. The original function of the gardens was to advance knowledge of plants for agricultural, medicinal and
dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...
purposes. The gardens were the first location in Ireland where the infection responsible for the 1845–1847 Great Famine was identified. Throughout the famine, research to stop the infection was undertaken at the gardens. Walter Wade and John Underwood, the first Director and Superintendent respectively, executed the layout of the gardens, but, when Wade died in 1825, they declined for some years. From 1834, Director Ninian Nivan brought new life into the gardens, performing some redesign. This programme of change and development continued with the following Directors into the late 1960s. The gardens were placed into government care in 1877 and then became known as the Royal Botanic Gardens (until the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922). That same year,
Dom Pedro II ''Don (honorific), Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the List o ...
,
Emperor of Brazil The monarchs of Brazil (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''monarcas do Brasil'') were the imperial head of state, heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy ...
, visited the gardens as part of a largely unpublicised visit to Ireland. In the winter of 1948/9
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...
lived and worked in Ireland. He frequently came to the Palm House to sit and write. There is a plaque commemorating him on the steps he sat on.


Facilities

As well as being a
tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...
and an amenity for nearby residents, the gardens – offering free entry – serve as a centre for horticultural research and training, including the breeding of many prized
orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...
. The soil at Glasnevin is strongly
alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...
(in horticultural terms) and this restricts the cultivation of
calcifuge A calcifuge is a plant that does not tolerate alkaline (basic) soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to flee from chalk'. These plants are also described as ericaceous, as the prototypical calcifuge is the genus '' Erica'' (heaths). It is not ...
plants such as rhododendrons to specially prepared areas. Nonetheless, the gardens display a range of outdoor "habitats" such as a
rockery A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...
,
herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...
,
rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...
,
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...
garden and arboretum. A vegetable garden has also been established. The National Herbarium is also housed at the National Botanic Gardens. The museum collection contains some 20,000 samples of plant products, including fruits, seeds, wood, fibres, plant extracts and artefacts, collected over the garden's two-hundred-year history. The gardens contain noted and historically important collections of orchids. The newly restored Palm House houses many tropical and subtropical plants. In 2002, a new multistorey complex was built; it includes a cafe and a large lecture theatre. The gardens are also responsible for the
arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...
at Kilmacurragh, County Wicklow, a centre noted for its conifers and calcifuges. This is located some south of Dublin. A gateway into
Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...
adjacent to the gardens was reopened in recent years.


Architecture

The gardens include some glasshouses of architectural importance, such as the Palm House and the Curvilinear Range. The Great Palm House is situated in the southern parts of the gardens, and is connected to the cactus house on its west side, and the orchid house on its east side. The main building measures 65 feet in height, 100 feet in length and 80 feet in width. The Palm House was originally built in 1862 to accommodate the ever-increasing collection of plants from tropical areas that demanded more and more protected growing conditions. The construction was overseen by David Moore, the curator of the gardens at the time. The original structure was built of wood, and was unstable, leading to it being blown down by heavy gales in 1883, twenty-one years later. Richard Turner, the great Dublin ironmaster, had already supplied an iron house to Belfast Gardens and he persuaded the Royal Dublin Society that such a house would be a better investment than a wooden house, and by 1883 construction had begun on a stronger iron structure. Fabrication of the structure took place in Paisley,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and shipped to Ireland in sections. By the early 2000s, the Palm House had fallen into a state of disrepair. After more than 100 years, the wrought iron, cast iron and timber construction had seriously deteriorated. Prior to its restoration, a large number of panes of glass were breaking each year due to the corrosion and instability of the structure. As part of the restoration, the house was completely dismantled into more than 7,000 parts, and tagged for repair and restoration off-site. 20-metre-tall cast iron columns within the Great Palm House had seriously degraded and were replaced by new cast iron columns created in moulds of the originals. To protect the structure from further corrosion, new modern paint technology was used to develop long-term protection for the Palm House, providing protection from the perpetually tropical internal climate. For Health and Safety reasons, overhead glass was laminated and vertical panes toughened, and a specialised form of mastic was used to fix the panes, replacing the original linseed oil putty that had contributed to the decay of the building over the century. The Palm House was reopened in 2004 after a lengthy replanting programme following the restoration process. The Curvilinear Range was completed in 1848 by Richard Turner, and was extended in the late 1860s. This structure, has also been restored (using some surplus contemporary structural ironwork from
Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
) and this work attracted the
Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Latin for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement ...
award for excellence in conservation architecture. There is also a third range of glasshouses: the Aquatic House, the Fern House and the original Cactus House. These structures were closed off in the early 2000s, and are currently undergoing restoration. As these glasshouses were specialised in the plants they housed, many specimens such as the Giant Amazonian Water Lily have not been grown in the gardens since the closure of the structures.


College of Amenity Horticulture (Teagasc)

Building on the training and education legacy of the gardens, the
Teagasc Teagasc (, meaning "Instruction") is the State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland, semi-state authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland responsible for research and development, training and advisory services in the agri-food sector. The ...
College of Amenity Horticulture is located in the gardens. It runs full- and part-time courses training students for the amenity horticulture industry. Training is run in association with the Office of Public Works (OPW), Dublin local authority parks departments, and the
Golfing Union of Ireland Golf Ireland is the governing body for golf across the island of Ireland. Formed in 2021, it replaced the Golfing Union of Ireland as the governing body for men's and boy's amateur golf, and the Irish Ladies Golf Union which oversaw women's com ...
.College of Amenity Horticulture - Botanic Gardens
www.teagasc.ie


Directors

The Director is the chief officer of the Gardens, with a residence provided on site. Directors have included: *Dr Walter Wade, Professor of Botany to the Dublin Society (until 1825) *Samuel Litton (1825–1834) * Ninian Niven (1834–1838) *Dr
David Moore David Moore or Dave Moore may refer to: Politics * David E. Moore (1798-1875), American politician in Virginia * David Moore (Australian politician) (1824–1898), politician in Sandridge, Victoria, Australia * David Moore (Manx politician), ...
(1838–79) *Sir Frederick William Moore (1879–1922) *J. W. Besant (1922–44) *Dr T. J. Walsh (1944–68) * Aidan Brady (1968–1993) *Donal M. Synnott (1994–2004) *Dr Peter Wyse Jackson (2005–2010) *Dr
Matthew Jebb Matthew Hilary Peter Jebb (born 1958) is an Irish people, Irish botany, botanist and taxonomy (biology), taxonomist specialising in the ant plant genus, genera ''Squamellaria'', ''Myrmecodia'', ''Hydnophytum'', ''Myrmephytum'' and ''Anthorrhiza' ...
(2010– )


See also

* National Botanic Gardens Kilmacurragh *
List of Irish botanical illustrators This is a list of botanical illustrators born or active in Ireland. Botanical illustration involves the painting, drawing and illustration of plants and ecosystems. Often meticulously observed, the botanical art tradition combines both science a ...
*
List of Irish plant collectors This article is a list of historical Irish plant collectors. An important part of taxonomy and botany is the collection of samples from different locales. * John Ball (1818–1889), first president Alpine Club, 1858–1860 * Evelyn Booth (1897� ...
* Griffith Park, Dublin *
The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland ''The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland'' was a book published in 1855 that featured 51 plates of nature printing by Henry Bradbury. Description The text was a scientific description of all the varieties of ferns found in the British Isles ...


References


External links


Official Website

National Botanic Gardens Guide

Ingenious Ireland: three podcast audio tours of the National Botanic Gardens
{{Authority control Botanical gardens in Ireland Glasnevin Science and technology in Ireland Science and technology in Ireland Tourist attractions in Dublin (city) Botanical research institutes