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Hello all!

I recently visited the Botanic Gardens to meet up with one of my fellow classmates who works there. I’ve included a brief interview below to give everyone a quick look at what an amazing place it is and all that it has to offer.

Basic Overview:

Located just outside of Dublin City Centre in Glasnevin, Ireland, The National Botanic Gardens was founded in 1795 by the Royal Dublin Society. It is currently operated by the Office of Public Works and welcomes thousands of visitors every year. Find out more about it here.

What is your favorite thing about working here?

Every time I think “That must be it,” there’s always something new.” Everything moves from growth to decline. New plants bloom or emerge daily and there is constantly a different one to learn about.

Interesting Fact?

The Botanic Gardens is home to the Turner Curvilinear Glass range, an iconic Victorian glasshouse designed by Dubliner Richard Turner. It was constructed out of curved glass and wrought iron from 1843-1869. This magnificent structure was restored for the 1995 bi-centenary and is a completely faithful reconstruction of the original. Turner was also responsible for designing the Palm Houses at Kew Gardens and Belfast Botanic Gardens, but both of these have been ‘restored’ with the use of steel. Some of the ironwork that replaced the corroded iron during the Curvilinear restoration came from the discarded scraps of the Palm Hose at Kew.

Why should someone come to visit?

“Because where else can you see an aspect of almost every part of the world in under 50 acres?” In addition to housing Ireland’s only rain forest, it is the home to rare plants and even one that is extinct in the wild, the Cycad Encephalartos woodii, and it has an illustrious history of orchid cultivation. Adding all that to the fact that there is free admission, it is fair to say that the Botanic Gardens Glasnevin is “a blooming free for all!”

For opening hours and directions to the Botanic Gardens, click here.