Ventnor Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
Ventnor Botanic Garden is a botanic garden
located in Ventnor
, Isle of Wight
. It was founded in 1970, by Sir Harold Hillier
, and donated to the Isle of Wight Council
. The garden is free to visit, except for parking charges.
Its collection comprises worldwide temperate
and subtropical
tree
s and shrub
s organised by region. These grow in the open air, the location favoured by the moist and sheltered microclimate
of the south-facing Undercliff landslip
area on the Isle of Wight coast.
The garden is on the site of the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, a sanatorium
that was established there to exploit the same mild climate. Founded by Arthur Hill Hassall
and opened in 1869 as the National Cottage Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest, it offered 130 separate south-facing bedrooms for its patients. The hospital was closed in 1964, made obsolete by drug treatment of tuberculosis
, and demolished in 1969.
In 1970, the site was initially redeveloped as the Steephill
Pleasure Gardens before Sir Harold Hillier's involvement in its more extensive development as a botanical garden. Despite the generally mild weather, plants had to be carefully selected to tolerate the shallow alkaline soil and salt winds, and the garden suffered serious damage in the unusually hard winter of 1986/7, the Great Storm of 1987
and another major storm of January 1990. The garden is owned and managed by the Isle of Wight Council
. The curator of the garden until 2011 was Simon Goodenough, who was instrumental in the design and development of most of the current features of the site.
The garden is located alongside the A3055 road
, has a large car park, and public transport is provided by buses on Southern Vectis' route 6
.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The 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 a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located in Ventnor
Ventnor
Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. It was founded in 1970, by Sir Harold Hillier
Harold Hillier
Sir Harold George Hillier was an English horticulturist.In 1921 he joined the family firm, Hillier Nurseries, his early career spent in assisting his father in rebuilding stocks depleted by World War I...
, and donated to the Isle of Wight Council
Isle of Wight Council
The Isle of Wight Council is a local council. It is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight, South East England. It is currently made up of 40 seats, with the Conservatives as ruling party with 24 councillors at the latest local election in June 2009....
. The garden is free to visit, except for parking charges.
Its collection comprises worldwide temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
and subtropical
Subtropics
The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s organised by region. These grow in the open air, the location favoured by the moist and sheltered microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
of the south-facing Undercliff landslip
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
area on the Isle of Wight coast.
The garden is on the site of the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
that was established there to exploit the same mild climate. Founded by Arthur Hill Hassall
Arthur Hill Hassall
Arthur Hill Hassall was a British physician, chemist and microscopist who is primarily known for his work in public health and food safety....
and opened in 1869 as the National Cottage Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest, it offered 130 separate south-facing bedrooms for its patients. The hospital was closed in 1964, made obsolete by drug treatment of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and demolished in 1969.
In 1970, the site was initially redeveloped as the Steephill
Steephill
Steephill is a hamlet near Ventnor, Isle of Wight, previously the location of a Victorian country estate with a castle-style mansion, Steephill Castle, which was demolished to build bungalows in the 1960s...
Pleasure Gardens before Sir Harold Hillier's involvement in its more extensive development as a botanical garden. Despite the generally mild weather, plants had to be carefully selected to tolerate the shallow alkaline soil and salt winds, and the garden suffered serious damage in the unusually hard winter of 1986/7, the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
and another major storm of January 1990. The garden is owned and managed by the Isle of Wight Council
Isle of Wight Council
The Isle of Wight Council is a local council. It is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight, South East England. It is currently made up of 40 seats, with the Conservatives as ruling party with 24 councillors at the latest local election in June 2009....
. The curator of the garden until 2011 was Simon Goodenough, who was instrumental in the design and development of most of the current features of the site.
The garden is located alongside the A3055 road
A3055 road
The A3055 is an A-Class Road on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. It forms the Southern portion of the circular around-the-Island A-class loop, the northern section being the A3054...
, has a large car park, and public transport is provided by buses on Southern Vectis' route 6
Southern Vectis route 6
Southern Vectis route 6 is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Southern Vectis between Newport, Blackgang and Ventnor. It also runs via Carisbrooke, Chillerton, Chale Green, Chale, Niton, St Lawrence and Whitwell. Five journeys are made in each direction Monday to Saturday, with four on...
.
External links
- Official website
- Website with old pictures of the Undercliff of the Isle of Wight
- Ventnor approaches Isle of Wight Historic Postcards page with images of the Royal National Hospital.