Founded in 1846 to replace a smaller predecessor, 40-acre Cambridge University Botanic Garden was always designed as a visitor attraction as well as a research tool. <\/p>

Elegant glasshouses, a luminous lilypad fountain and picturesque pathways fringe a space now home to around 8,000 species, their study supporting explorations of some of the big botanical challenges of our times. <\/p>

Nine national plant collections are based here, including geraniums, tulips and alchemilla, and the garden is associated with Charles Darwin, who was suggested for his voyage on HMS Beagle by the university\u2019s Chair of Botany, John Henslow. botanic.cam.ac.uk<\/a><\/em><\/p>

Discover the rare and exotic plants that inspired Charles Darwin, and his theory of evolution, on your next visit to Cambridge – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
Sheffield<\/h2>
Dominated by a magnificent glasshouse, the Paxton Pavilions, Sheffield Botanical Gardens stretch across 19 acres just west of the city centre. <\/p>
Opened in 1836, at the behest of the Sheffield Botanical and Horticultural Society, the Grade II-listed gardens are thriving once more under the remit of a charitable trust. They were originally designed in Gardenesque style, each plant arranged within pleasingly assembled beds. <\/p>
Less agreeably, the layout also included a bear pit, for the entertainment of shareholders and subscribers; now home to a sculpture highlighting its former function, at one time the pit was used for composting. sbg.org.uk<\/a><\/em><\/p>
$\"Sheffield$
The Victorian Beds in Sheffield were designed to look like an Indian carpet, and are reliably filled with colourful seasonal plants – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
Birmingham<\/h2>
Laid out between 1829 and 1832, to a plan drawn up by pioneering horticulturalist John Claudius Loudon, Birmingham Botanical Gardens remain one of the city\u2019s quiet treasures. <\/p>
Alongside ornamental gardens and an arboretum, the site is home to all that you might expect to find in a Victorian public park, including glasshouses, a butterfly house, a rose garden, a bandstand and a fountain. <\/p>
The gardens, with their original features, now have Grade II*-listed status. Highlights include a pinetum, a collection of bonsai trees, and an alpine garden originally financed by a family made wealthy from selling screws. birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk<\/a><\/em><\/p>
$\"Birmingham$
In 1937, Neville Chamberlain gave his first public speech as Prime Minister from the bandstand at Birmingham Botanical Gardens – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
Kew<\/h2>
No list of British botanical gardens would be complete without a nod to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Though its Oxford equivalent was established over a century earlier, this plant-packed, 300-acre corner of southwest London is a true botanical superstar. <\/p>
Founded in 1759 by Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, it\u2019s famed for its historic glasshouses, prestigious plant collections and a focus on scientific research. <\/p>
Historic quirks include the gardens\u2019 own police force, dating back to 1845, while contemporary attractions include a dynamic events programme; don\u2019t miss this summer\u2019s nature-inspired exhibition by artist Marc Quinn. kew.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>
$\"Royal$
Kew Gardens is London\u2019s largest UNESCO World Heritage site, offering an oasis of calm in the capital – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
Benmore<\/h2>
On a larger, and more rugged, scale than its urban counterparts, Benmore Botanic Garden stretches over 120 acres of mountainside, north of Dunoon. Once a private estate, the site was gifted to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1930. <\/p>
Now one of three satellite gardens across Scotland (the other two being Dawyck and Logan), highlights at Benmore include a dramatic entrance lined with huge redwood trees, and a beautiful barrel-roofed Victorian fernery. <\/p>
In late spring and early summer the focus is on rhododendrons, when its 300 species-strong collection ripple the hillsides with raspberry, crimson and candyfloss-coloured blooms. rbge.org.uk<\/a><\/em><\/p>
$\"Benmore$
Ancient ferns flourish at Benmore Botanic Garden, reaching up to the vaulted roof of the restored Victorian fernery – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
Llanarthney<\/h2>
Like the other sites on this list, the National Botanic Garden of Wales was established to foster the study and conservation of plants, and to engage the public in that work (albeit much more recently than most, having only opened in 2000). <\/p>
With an orchard dedicated to Welsh apple varieties, a collection of rare plants \u2013 all of which are native to Wales \u2013 and the largest single-span glasshouse in the world, it\u2019s great for botanising. <\/p>
That\u2019s only part of its appeal, however. Its location was originally part of a grand Regency estate and, though the site was neglected for many years, some of the estate\u2019s historic water features remain. gardenofwales.org.uk<\/a><\/em><\/p>
$\"National$
A must-visit in Carmarthenshire, these relatively new gardens are home to some of the most endangered plants on the planet – –<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n
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