The Palm House

Built in 1969, the Palm House contains a large collection of tropical and sub-tropical plants including some rare and endangered palms donated by Kew Gardens. Bananas and pineapples jostle for space with gloriously tropical flowers such as plumeria and passionflower. Specimen plants include the giant Bird of Paradise and a monstrous Swiss Cheese Plant.

The Arid House

Home to a fascinating collection of cacti and succulents, the Arid House showcases the true survival experts of the plant world. Their flowers, though short lived, are extraordinarily colourful and fragrant and hopefully you can catch one or two on your visit. If not, the variety of shapes, spines and hairs are still an impressive sight. These plants make great subjects for photographing and sketching.