2013
SZ5476 : Lawn Above Ventnor Botanic Garden
taken 11 years ago, near to St Lawrence, Isle of Wight, England
Lawn Above Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden is on the site of the former Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest which was founded in 1868 and demolished in 1969. The Garden's earliest incarnation, in 1970 as the Steephill Pleasure Gardens, was based on the original layout of the Victorian grounds, with its backbone of mature specimen Thuja, Evergreen Oak and Cupressus. The historically important plantings of Chusan Palm remain the only true garden feature from the Victorian age. Within two years the plantings had created enough interest for the new Garden to be officially opened and for the alteration of the name to Ventnor Botanic Garden. On 21st June 1972 His Excellency Earl Mountbatten, then Governor of the Island, performed the opening ceremony.
Ventnor Botanic Garden lies in the microclimate at the heart of the famous 'Undercliff.' The garden is protected from cold northerly winds by chalk downs. The warmth from its southerly aspect, combined with the moderating influence of the sea, means that frost occurs rarely and is usually of short duration and not great severity. With an average rainfall of 28 inches its climate is more akin to the Mediterranean. This enables a wide variety of plants considered too tender for much of mainland Britain to be grown and the Garden is noted for its collections of subtropical plants grown unprotected out of doors.
Link Ventnor Botanic Garden website
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