Bermuda Botanical Gardens
The Bermuda Botanical Garden was inaugurated in 1898. The 35-acre landscaped park located in
Paget parish has numerous flowers, shrubs, trees and plantations including a vast collection of subtropical fruit trees, hibiscus, an aviary and Banyan trees.
The Garden has large glass houses with cacti and orchids along with formal gardens and lawns. There is also an aromatic garden designed for blind visitors. There is a Visitors Center in the garden area (presently closed).
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Know the Garden and its Amenities
The Botanical Garden is part of Bermuda National Parks and is maintained by the government's Parks Department. The garden has several sections.
Dombeya at Bermuda Botanical Gardens
Photo: Malcom Manners, flickr
Towards the North Gate of the garden (i.e. Berry Hill Road), you will see cactus hillside that includes aloes and agaves with sword-shaped leaves. You will also find
Bermuda cedars here and a
Blue Garden having a beautiful blue foliage.
Bermuda Cedar at Botanical Gardens
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The
Camden House is located at the Bermuda Botanical Gardens. It is designated as the official residence of Bermuda's Premiere and is an impressive colonial building with painted shutters and fretwork.
Built in the early 1700s, Camden House is a great example of traditional Bermudian architecture. It has a fine collection of art and antiques. You can combine a visit to the Botanical Gardens with a free tour inside the Camden House.
Camden House Bermuda
Photo: Malcom Manners, flickr
If you are carrying your lunch basket, there are picnic tables around this area for you to relax in the shades and enjoy your lunch.
Alternatively, for breakfast or lunch visit
The Botanist Cafe. It's located inside the
Masterworks Art Museum and within the garden area. In breakfast, you get pastries, open sandwiches, cereals & blends, and of course fresh coffee.
In lunch, they serve salads, sandwiches, flat bread specials, platters, etc. Wine and cocktails are also available. The cafe is open 8am - 4pm, Monday to Saturday.
Behind Camden House, there is a beautiful rose garden, and a kitchen garden showcasing many types of herbs and cut flowers. The rose garden known as 'Bermuda Rose Garden' showcases several unique types of rose varieties that have been developed in Bermuda and some of them have been named after island's people and parishes.
Roses at Bermuda Botanical Gardens
Photo: Malcom Manners, flickr
There is also an aviary here with peacocks, ducks and many other birds. Lawns stretch from here all the way towards South Road having many matured trees like cedars and acacias. Some of the lawns are bordered with beds of seasonal flowers like lilies, freesias and dahlias.
Bird of Paradise Flower, Bermuda Botanical Gardens
Photo: Lauren Chickadel, CC BY SA 2.5
The western section has palm gardens full of Bermuda palmettos, butterfly and maze gardens, and mammoth rubber and ficus trees. There is also a Sensory Garden for the blind. All the signs here are in Braille to help those who do not have vision. The sensory garden has rosemary, jasmine, and other scented flora with a fountain at the center.
In April,
Bermuda Annual Exhibition takes place at the Botanical Garden for three days drawing thousands of people. It is like a country fair which is one of the island’s biggest events.
From November through June,
Farmers' Market sets up on every Saturday at the JJ Outerbridge building located at the Bermuda Botanical Gardens. Farmers, gardeners and even local artisans bring their homemade produce and products of various kinds and sell them.
In June 2012, a steel made sculpture was erected at the courtyard of Botanical Gardens in front of the Masterworks Museum in tribute to the deceased Beatle member John Lennon. John had a deep connection with Bermuda. He sailed to Bermuda in 1980 with his son when he was 40.
Double Fantasy Sculpture at Bermuda Botanical Gardens
Photo: slgckgc, flickr
It is in this garden John Lennon discovered the Double Fantasy, a small freesia flower. He wrote his last album here and named it after the flower as "Double Fantasy". He deeply loved Bermuda. Three weeks after the album was released, he died in New York.
The sculpture has a weight of some 2,000 pounds and features his style of glasses, guitar, doves and freesias.
Admission & Open Hours
Admission to Botanical Gardens is free. The garden is open daily from sunrise to sunset.
There used to be a Visitors Center at the Botanical Garden and also a small cafe & gift shop inside the center. But they have not re-opened following the Covid. Several years back, free 90-minute guided walks were offered at the Botanical Garden, but unfortunately, that has stopped as well.
Location, Bus Routes, Contacts
Bus routes for Botanical Gardens: #2 (runs between Hamilton and Paget), #7 (runs between Dockyard and Hamilton), #1 (runs between Hamilton and St George). All these buses go to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital located nearby.
If you are visiting by scooter, take the Berry Hill Road in Paget, at the roundabout you will find the entrance to Botanical Gardens. There is ample parking space right outside. There are two other entrances: South Gate on South Road, and West Gate on Point Finger Road next to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
Address: 169 South Road,
Paget parish, Bermuda. Phone: 441/236-4201
Check out
Tourist Map to see the location of Botanical Garden.
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 By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj, a seasoned travel writer and Bermuda destination expert, has extensive global travel experience. This website reflects his profound insights, garnered over nearly two decades of dedicated findings and research on the island. Raj has assisted countless Bermuda-bound visitors by providing direct, personalized responses to their queries and imparting his wealth of knowledge through this platform. This site serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking informed and reliable insights into Bermuda's treasures.
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Visitors' Reviews and Comments
John (November 2022)
Visitor centre closed, cafe closed, cacti house closed, Camden House closed, no guided walks and haven't been for years we were told by three separate workers :-( Like many things in Bermuda, this has been left to decay and is no longer the tourist attraction it once was :-( If Bermuda wants tourists, it drastically needs to up its game, stop using Covid as an excuse and get back on track!
Gwen (October 2022)
Very disappointed in the state of the gardens. Camden House in addition to many other buildings are in terrible condition. The rose garden does not have any roses, the bird sanctuary is no longer there - no guided walking tour. The government needs to seriously upgrade this facility or remove it from the local places for tourists to visit.
Karen (June 2022)
It would be helpful if you update your website to mention the visitor center is closed , the cafe is not open, and the $10 admission to the gallery is expensive when you consider half the gallery is not open.
Other than walking around the lovely grounds, I'm not certain my $35 cab fair was worth it!
Lynda Wentzell (December 2016)
I visited the botanical gardens today and was distinctly under-whelmed. They are not maintained properly, everything was shut, no cafe, Camden house was closed. I waited for the tour and in spite of 2 gardeners going to find a guide no-one turned up. I found out later that it is funded by volunteers. Such a shame there is so much potential here, wonderful mature specimen trees could be so good but needs funds, if they charged a small entrance fee they could afford to maintain it.
Keith Walters (April 2015)
Hi Raj, Quick question about the BBG, I have read some pretty negative stuff on Trip Advisor about the gardens not worth visiting and being underwhelming. I will be there next month May 4 and would like to hear what you know about the current state of BBG. I realize that Gonzalo did some damage but Spring brings new growth and recovery and as my wife is a keen horticulturist would like her to see this attraction. Thanks
Raj (bermuda-attractions) April 2015
Hi, Although worth a visit, unfortunately the Botanical Gardens is not in a great shape. Lack of consistent maintenance is the main issue. On top of it, the government is building a maintenance yard right at the center to replace one which used to be there a decade back. It will have couple of large buildings, a large 3 storey water tank, a parking lot for the staffs with fencing and sliding gates. So once functional, you can expect numerous trucks, trailers, tractors, staffs making their way into or out of the yard, completely spoiling the peace of the park. Even now, it's an ugly sight.
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