about

History:
The Royal Botanical Gardens, commonly called "Hope Gardens", occupies 200
acres of land in the Ligunaea Plains of urban St Andrew. The gardens were
established in 1873 on a section of land from the estate of Major Richard Hope,
one of the original English colonisers who arrived with the invading force of Penn
and Venables. Today the gardens are the largest public green space in the Kingston
metropolitan region, and are home to Jamaica's most popular collection of endemic
and exotic botanical collections. Of particular interest is the Cassia siamea grove
by the main entrance, which was planted in 1907, and the other mini-gardens
within the park - notably the cacti garden, with its rare varietals; the bougainvillea
walk with its magnificent explosions of tropical colours; the annual gardens, with
numerous species of exotic flowers; the sunken gardens and the lily pond.

Local Flavour:
Most of the plants and trees, particularly the mango and various spice species
found here and in the gardens at Bath, originally came from a captured French ship
on its way from Mauritius to Hispaniola in 1782. It is still highly unclear as to
where exactly the plants went, but we do know that the Receiver General, one Mr
Hinton East, owned and operated a garden near to the gardens at Hope. Since all
cargo entering the country had to pass through his hands and be cleared by his
office, it is not surprising that years after the fact, the whole collection was
deposited in Mr East's garden which later was transplanted to the Hope Estate.

Famous For:
There are many rare and beautiful species of tropical plants and trees at the Royal
Botanical Gardens, including the Hibiscus elatus (blue mahoe), the national tree of
Jamaica. Blue mahoe is a small spreading tree with flowers that open in primrose
colour in the morning and change to orange and deep red as the day advances.

Don't Miss:
The Amphitheatre, where the Honourable "Miss Lou" Louise Bennett-Coverly, a
famous Jamaican folklorist, poet and storyteller, used to hold Saturday morning
tapings of her famous TV show, Ring Ding. She occasionally hosts band concerts
by the Jamaica Military Band and poetry readings.