Younger Botanic Garden Benmore
| Benmore Botanic Garden | |
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 The avenue of Giant Sequoias at Benmore Botanic Gardens. |
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 Benmore Botanic Garden
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| Benmore Botanic Garden shown within Argyll and Bute | |
| OS grid reference | NS 14319 85507 |
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| Lieutenancy area |
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| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DUNOON, ARGYLL |
| Postcode district | PA23 |
| Dialling code | 01369 |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
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| Scottish Parliament |
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| Website | http://www.rbge.org.uk/the-gardens/benmore |
Benmore Botanic Garden; formerly known as the Younger Botanic Garden, is a large botanical garden situated in Strath Eachaig at the foot of Beinn Mhòr, on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The gardens are on the west side of the A815 road from Dunoon, between the Holy Loch and Loch Eck, and include footbridges across the River Eachaig.
Features include a Redwood Avenue of Giant Sequoias planted in 1863, large square walled gardens, a waterfall, a fernery, ponds and walks up the hillside to where you can look out across the Holy Loch. A cafe can be found at the entrance as well as a shop. The garden is located within the Argyll Forest Park, which is itself within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
The area once called "Innasraugh", meaning "the sheltered valley", was part of the hunting grounds of the Dukes of Argyll, and belonged to the Campbells of Ballochyle. It was reached by a ford across the River Eachaig at Uig, near modern Eckford house.
Around 1820, Ross Wilson introduced tree planting with the first known coniferous plantation of forest trees in Cowal. In 1849 the estate was bought by John Lamont, a wealthy sugar planter in Trinidad who had emigrated from Toward (near Dunoon) 48 years earlier. He arranged replacement of the previous manor house with the larger Benmore House, but died in 1850, a year before the house was completed. His nephew James Lamont inherited the estate, but then sold it and it went to various other owners in succession.
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