Best Gardens in a UK Zoo

[garyjp]

Was doing a spot of gardening today and it got me thinking about Zoo gardens ( plants,flowers etc )- do they bother , are visitors bothered at all and finally who has the best gardens and why?

 

[Ned]

Bristol would be hard to beat. I think gardens matter because attractive grounds give a zoo an over all impression of quality, as well as making the zoo a pleasant environment to be in.

 

[Gigit]

Paignton is surely a contender. I think it would attract visitors even if it was just a Botanical Garden - somewhere really pleasant to walk, the rolling landscape, the lake, the many different tree species, some from Herbert Whitley's time, the flower beds and lawns. There's a woodland walk beyond the lemurs which a lot of people probably miss - it's full of wild birds. The gardening team do a great job. I have several plants in my garden that I bought after seeing them growing at the zoo.

 

[FBBird]

There’s a book about the gardens of Cotswold Wildlife Park, which are quite lovely.

 

[Ned]

There’s a book about the gardens of Cotswold Wildlife Park, which are quite lovely.

I completely forgot CWP, the walled garden is amazing.

 

[Bubalus]

CWP for me with Bristol coming in second. If you visit CWP in spring when everything is starting to bloom then it really is incredible

 

[Dassie rat]

Newquay Zoo has nice gardens. When I went, there was a maze

 

[Panthera1981]

The Walled/Kitchen gardens at Howletts near the gorilla were always a unexpected highlight for me. Ditto the Mansion gardens at Port Lympne (when the house used to be accessible!)

 

[gentle lemur]

Bristol has fine gardens with extensive lawns, fine old trees along the main terrace, a nice rockery and a large herbaceous border, if you like that sort of thing.
But I have no doubt that Chester has the most extensive and varied gardens in a British zoo. I particularly like the Chinese Rock Garden near the red pandas (commemorating George Mottershead's wife), the Madagascar Grasses (formerly Glorious Grasses) near Dragons in Danger, and the exotic planting on the other side of that building which was a fine backdrop for the animatronic dinosaurs some years ago. On the other hand, I have never liked the Sunken Garden (aka the Donkey's Nest) with the statue of Mr Noah. Of course there are many other areas of planting around the zoo and in the indoor exhibits too, and no lover of plants should miss the Plant Project greenhouses besides June's Food Court, where the zoo holds National Collections of Nepenthes (pitcher plants), orchids and cacti. See Plants & Gardens | Chester Zoo

 

[FBBird]

Newquay Zoo has nice gardens. When I went, there was a maze

Always had good planting, much of it thanks to Stewart Muir when he was in charge

 

[Pootle]

As someone who enjoys gardening, growing veg and owner of a few fruit bushes, for me its CWP. I found a pomegranate tree there once! As mentioned earlier, the walled garden is a place you can sit and relax for an hour or so and the greenhouses are always interesting. Combine this with the animal noises and it's a very pleasant place to be.

 

[demonmoth]

Cotswold wildlife park hands down has the best plants and gardens

 

[Benosaurus]

I think Welsh Mountain Zoo also deserves a mention.