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The Birmingham Botanical Gardens

United Kingdom England BirminghamThe Birmingham Botanical Gardens

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🇬🇧 Birmingham Botanical Gardens | Where Nature Runs Wild! 🌿✨

Ingeborg EdwardsIngeborg Edwards

242

A beautiful botanical garden. There are four glass conservatories filled with many beautiful and unique plants, which are categorised by their climate. Yet sadly, there are outdoor cages where captive birds are kept such as a macaw, even in this winter cold. Giant koi fish were kept in a small pond relative to their size and quantities and their hunger was objectified by a timed feeder where people can stand around and laugh at the confused and stressed animals fighting for food. I was extremely disappointed in the gardens for their choice to exploit sentient creatures just for entertainment and the attraction of more visitors and money. There is so much within the botanical gardens to do and fill your day with, so there is no need for the objectified animals to be here. There are so many plants to stare at and photograph, there is a beautiful bonsai garden, outdoor herb and alpine gardens, green houses, bamboo trails, waterfalls and an amazing childrens park. These gardens are perfect for kids and adults, I just wish they would realise that they don't need to continually play a part in the exploitation of animals to provide visitors with an amazing time. A lot of the beds are not maintained, this is probably due to COVID but as a plant lover it made me sad to see pests on many plants with and broken, rotting beds. However, I actually really liked the authentic, small scale and realistic vibe of the place compared to many of the commercialised and over priced botanical gardens. House plant enthusiasts can enjoy seeing their own plant children thriving and living their best HUGE life, and can get excited at the plants on offer in the cute gift shop. It isn't too pricey, around £7 for people over the age of 5. However, if you are disabled or on UC, like me, you can get a concession price! I do recommend the gardens and the walk from Birmingham city center... perhaps try to write in the visitor book, leave a review or speak to the staff about your concerns with the poor animals.

Tilly DunlopTilly Dunlop

Gorgeous gardens, an escape in to nature. Extensive gardens, much bigger than expected, with different areas for things like tropical, arid or Mediterranean plants. Lots of interesting plants that you don’t have the opportunity to see every day like bonsai trees, banana plants and huge lily pads. The butterfly room is particularly amazing with the opportunity to get up close with the butterflies and the pupae. The cafe had some good food on offer, lots of veggie, vegan, plant based options including vegan cheese & tomato baguettes, vegan jacket spuds, quorn nuggets etc. Although there was an issue with the fryer, there was still something to eat. Parking is limited, however as people leave at various times, it wasn’t too hard to get a space. It costs £3 for the full day which isn’t bad at all. The staff were accommodating a friendly, especially on reception. I had a friend arriving later than me on the same ticket, the staff helped putting her through later without causing a fuss. The gift shop has a good range, was reasonably priced, got some wax melts for about £1 each and a 10p tea light. Can’t argue with that. Some things are a little on the pricey side but looks like good quality, unique, local & independently made products. Not just lots of mass produced rubbish that you get in some places. The only negative was the amount of school trips with loud screaming children. It’s no fault of the park obviously and it’s great to see kids learning about nature but it does ruin the peaceful atmosphere. It would be good to see more teachers and parents guiding children to be quiet and respectful of nature & other visitors when in the wider park, and using the playground to let loose (there’s a great one in the park) Travelled down from Manchester to visit and was not disappointed.

L “Bizz” BizzleL “Bizz” Bizzle

In the interest of giving a balanced opinion I am going to explain why, on this occasion, the review is accompanied by 3 stars. My first visit to The Birmingham Botanical Gardens and I would return again as I enjoyed the visit enough to say it was worth it. The best way to sum up in a short statement is, the Gardens are not in their best condition and I would imagine far away from the condition I would assume it was in 1998 when it was one of the locations used to host foreign dignitaries at the G8 Summit. I guess in a small part due to the challenges many public spaces and attractions have had to deal with in the last couple of years or so. Hopefully once again at some point in the future things will align to bring the Gardens back nearer to the 'glory' days. There was evidence on view of revitalisation / rejuvenation of some areas of the Gardens and ongoing work, however it is also quite clear to see how difficult it must be to stay on top of the general upkeep of the Gardens. The Glasshouses were in a reasonable condition, housing some of the most stunning plant collections and some delightful visual experiences. On the other hand, outside, most of the bird aviaries were either uninhabited or looking slightly run down. Thankfully not run down to the point of being detrimental to the birds, with enough evidence that the welfare and upkeep of the birds is paramount. Many of the themed Garden areas were in need of maintenance, including quite a few of the features, such as viewing platforms or bridges etc, which may have been closed off for other reasons initially, now looking in need of safety maintenance before they return to visitor use. In conclusion, I did enjoy my visit and would return again. However, as mentioned before, I can see that there is a bit of a Catch 22 situation at the moment. Investment is clearly needed to bring the Gardens up to their previous standards, but investment is easier to justify when visitor numbers are buoyant and visitor numbers on the rise. Hope that when I do return again their is fresh evidence of the Garden restorations and healthier visitor numbers. It is a Garden with growing potentials.

DarrenDarren

What a disappointment!! Honestly you could get the same experience just walking down your street and looking at decorated lit houses. I wish I was exaggerating but the lights honestly felt like something was thrown together last minute. Was there even a budget or production team for this!? The neon ribbons, for example, were tied together in the centre at various points which sort of ruined the 'lazer" illusion and seriously just looked tacky. There was no wow factor at all, a couple of lit trees and then occasionally a few bargain lights clumped together to make a 'display'. We came across a fork in the trail that said there was catering ahead. Wow, yet another disappointment. There were literally two vendors and nothing else. One sold waffles and crepes and the other sold hot dogs and hamburgers. Good thing we weren't vegan or vegetarian because there were no options for those customers except for chips. Very scarce seating, couple of benches and that was it. Felt very low budget and like there was no thought put into it whatsoever. Family fed and back on the trail. Honestly nothing much to see except a couple of lit garden reindeer. The same kind you would see at B&Q being sold. Honestly, nothing spectacular. Followed the path, expecting to see the showstopper but instead to our surprise reached a staff member who said thank you for coming. I literally turned to my husband and said ...Is that it? Shocked, I asked the staff member ... " Sorry, is this the end of the trail?" She confirmed yes. Wow....it was over already!? We had hardly seen anything! For the price they charge... It is ridiculous what you get. Will not be going again or recommending.

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