Andromeda Gardens

Andromeda Gardens is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) botanical garden and attractive tourist attraction in the village of Bathsheba, Saint Joseph in Barbados. It is a scenic park with flowering plants and tropical trees and along with Flower Forest it is one of the most alluring parks on the island. Named from the Greek mythological figure of Andromeda it started as a private plant collection around the home of Iris Bannochie, who was the leading expert on horticulture on the island.

Andromeda was first open to the public during a fund raising event hosted by the Barbados Horticultural Society in the 1970s. Andromeda was well received, and has remained open to the public by paid admission since then. Andromeda has over six hundred different species of plants adapted to a range of tropical environments. In 1990, the garden had 40,000 visitors.

The Andromeda Botanic Garden is currently owned by the Barbados National Trust although currently leased to Passiflora Ltd. Passiflora Ltd is a registered training provider and assessment centre and offers a range of horticultural courses at Andromeda. The Andromeda Botanic Gardens Educational Program is run in co-ordination with the Department of Biological & Chemical Sciences of the University of the West Indies. The University of the West Indies (UWI), has responsibility for Research activities at Andromeda.

At the centre of the upper garden is a majestic native banyan. When Queen Ingrid of Denmark visited the garden in 1971, she was served refreshments in a recently built gazebo overlooking the sea. There is a classroom, cafeteria and gift shop. In 1991, the palm garden contained over 60 different species of palm.

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