Alameda Gardens
| Gibraltar Botanic Gardens La Alameda |
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The Dell in the heart of La Alameda Gardens
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| Type | Botanical garden |
| Location | Gibraltar |
| Coordinates | 36°07′53″N 5°21′04″W / 36.1313°N 5.3511°WCoordinates: 36°07′53″N 5°21′04″W / 36.1313°N 5.3511°W |
| Area | 6 hectares (15 acres) |
| Opened | 1816 |
| Owned by | Government of Gibraltar |
| Operated by | Wildlife (Gibraltar) Limited |
| Status | Open all year |
| Plants | Aloes, palms, dragon trees, sunken garden |
| Species | 1,900 |
| Director | Dr. Keith Bensusan |
| Website | GibraltarGardens.gi |
The Gibraltar Botanic Gardens or La Alameda Gardens are a botanical garden in Gibraltar, spanning around 6 hectares (15 acres). The Rock Hotel lies above the park.
In 1816 the gardens were commissioned by the British Governor of Gibraltar General George Don. It was his intention that the soldiers stationed in the fortress would have a pleasant recreational area to enjoy when off duty, and so inhabitants could enjoy the air protected from the extreme heat of the sun.
The gardens were resurrected in 1991 by an external company when it was realised that since the 1970s they had fallen into a poor state. Three years later the gardens had the addition of a zoo: the Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park.
In 2001 a bronze sculpture of James Joyce's Molly Bloom was installed in the gardens. This running figure was commissioned from Jon Searle to celebrate the bicentenary of the Gibraltar Chronicle in 2001.
General Don had commissioned a memorial of George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield in 1815, which did not materialise in the form initially requested. A colossal statue of General Eliot, carved from the bowsprit of the Spanish ship San Juan Nepomuceno, taken at the Battle of Trafalgar was first created. That statue was taken to the Governor's residence, The Convent, where it stands today, being replaced by the present bronze bust in 1858. This statue is guarded for four 18th-century howitzers.
The plants of the Alameda Gardens are a combination of native species and others brought in from abroad:
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Wikipedia