Botanical Gardens Singleton Park

The Botanical Gardens is now open. We opened on Saturday 29th August following strict social distancing rules.

It is the responsibility of every visitor to take sensible COVID-19 precautions as advised by the Welsh Government.

There is something to see throughout the year in the Botanical Gardens. The herbaceous borders are a fantastic sight from late March until mid October and the variety of glasshouses offer shelter in inclement weather. So even during the harsh winter months the garden has lots to offer.
In 1919 the private estate of the wealthy Vivian family was bought by the Swansea Corporation for use as a public park. In 1926 the Educational Gardens were officially opened as a “collection of economic plants and British flora”. Renamed in 1991 as the Botanical Gardens they contain a renowned double herbaceous border and many mature trees of national importance. In addition there are fine specimens of rare and exotic plants from around the world as well as a rock garden, herb garden, and the new wildflower garden which opened in 2017.

The 40 metre double herbaceous borders were part of the original Educational Gardens created in the 1920’s and their layout is little changed since those times. It is entirely possible that some of the plants found here are divisions of those originally planted.

The large aluminium glasshouses were constructed in the early 1990’s on the site of the original wooden Tropical and Show glasshouses which had become unsafe. They include a Cactus House with succulents from the desert regions, a Temperate House with plants from Mediterranean-like areas of the world, an Economic House containing plants from around world with various economic uses, and finally a Tropical House with plants from the jungles and rainforests of the world, planted to give a naturalistic setting and kept warm at temperatures above 12° C.