The University of Dundee Botanic Garden is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

in the West End of the city of

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The gardens are kept and funded entirely by the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

History

Plans for a Botanic Garden in Dundee were first advanced by Professor

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning ...

in 1906, but were not acted upon at that point. This scheme would have seen the gardens developed between the Perth Road and Magdalen Green. Geddes was then Professor of Botany at

University College, Dundee A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, and was responsible for laying out the grounds of its quadrangle (now known as the Geddes Quadrangle) in order that they could be used for teaching purposes. Another Geddes proposal in 1909 failed to be supported by University College. A further scheme suggested by Geddes in 1909 failed to gain support from the University College authorities. Plans for a garden at the university were again mooted in the 1960s, but were rejected on grounds of cost. It was in 1970 that

James Drever James Drever FRSE (1910–1991) was a Scottish academic who served as the first Principal of the University of Dundee. He has been described as 'one of the most pivotal figures in the University's history'. Early life and career James Dreve ...

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the university, seriously considered the proposal and moved towards its foundation. The first appointed curator, Edward Kemp, brought a wealth of knowledge to the post, having formerly been curator at the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

Curators

There have been, to date, four

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

s of the gardens: * Edward Kemp (1971–1980) * Les Bissett (1980–1998) * Alasdair Hood (1998–2018) * Kevin Frediani (2019–present)

Entry

The garden is open daily from 10am until 4.30pm (March–October) or 3.30pm (November–February). A modest admission fee is charged, although entry is free for staff and matriculated students of the university. On Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the first two days of January, the gardens are closed.

Friends

The Friends of Dundee University Botanic Garden is a charitable and voluntary society set up in 1982 to support the garden's development, raise funds and promote the garden's activities. In 2007 and 2008 the Friends led the campaign against plans to close the garden.

References

External links

* {{coord, 56.4555, -3.0213, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Botanical gardens in Scotland University of Dundee Gardens in Dundee Science and technology in Dundee