Durham Botanic Garden

Our 10 hectare university botanic garden is set amongst beautiful mature woodlands on the southern outskirts of Durham City. We provide an academic resource to the university for teaching and research as well as offering educational visits to schools.

Visitors are very welcome to enjoy our garden and its living collections. Our visitor centre is open daily for light refreshments and gifts.

The garden is enjoyed by young and old alike. Explore this unique garden and discover something new around each corner over the changing seasons. We have plant collections from around the world, including China, Japan, North America, South Africa, New Zealand and Chile, as well as a woodland garden, alpine garden and bamboo grove.

Don't miss our magnificent monkey puzzle tree that dominates the centre of the garden.

In our glasshouses you will find a collection of tropical rainforest plants (including the giant Amazonian water lily, Victoria amazonica), desert plants, and more familiar plants from the Mediterranean. We also have some tropical bugs, stick insects, scorpions and tarantulas. Over the summer we occasionally have a selection of tropical butterflies.

In late summer to early spring our arboretum is grazed by our rare breed sheep. They are a vital part or our green management plan as they graze our grassland for the benefit of wildflowers and insects.

There are also various pieces of artwork around the garden including the recently installed "Vessels of life", a gift to the garden from the Maharajah of Baroda.