The Government Botanical Gardens at Udagamandalam (Ooty), Tamil Nadu state, India, were laid out in 1847 The Gardens, divided into several sections, cover an area of around 22 hectares, and lie on the lower slopes of the Doddabetta peak. The garden has a terraced layout. It is maintained by the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department.
It ascends the slopes of the hill at an elevation of 2400–2500 metres above Mean Sea Level. The garden enjoys a warm temperate climate, with an average rainfall of 140 cms, the most of which is received during south-west monsoon, with frosty nights from November to February. The maximum and minimum temperatures are 28°C and 0°C respectively.
The government botanical garden was started in 1847. Its architect was William Graham McIvor. The Marquis of Tweedale prepared the initial layout during the late 1840s. The gardens were established by a subscription of Rs 3 per month amongst the European residents for the purpose of supplying vegetables at a reasonable cost. During the time that Ootacamund was under British military control, considerable cultivation of vegetable for the market was carried on by the European settlers and others. Captain Molyneux of the 2nd European Regiment managed vegetable cultivation. The site occupied is the present new garden. The subscriber received the vegetables free of cost. But this arrangement did not work out and in early 1847, a fund was raised by means of donations and subscriptions with a view to form a horticultural society and a public garden
There were very few horticulturists at that time. Seeds and saplings were not available locally, but were available in the jungles that surrounded them. Hence, it was proposed to establish a public garden. For this purpose, a wood was selected between Lushington Hall (the Present Hebron School) and General Sewell’s Property (the present Raj Bhavan). Shortly after formation of the society, the committee requested for state aid for providing a scientific and practical gardener and granting funds to meet his salary. This suggestion was accepted and Mr.W.G.McIvor from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was sent to Ootacamund. He arrived in March 1848, converted the upper portion, which was a forest, and the lower portion, which was a swamp, into a beautiful garden. He took ten years to complete the layout of the Garden.
Collections The Gardens have around 1000 species, both exotic and indigenous, of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, herbal and bonsai plants. In the centre of the Gardens lie a fossilized tree trunk estimated to be 20 million years old. The Gardens consist of several lawns with flowering plants, ponds with lilies, beds of flowers and ferns laid out in an Italian style, several plots of flowering plants, a variety of medicinal plants.
Sections The present Botanical Garden is divided into 5 sections namely Lower Garden, New Garden, Italian Garden, Conservatory, Fountain Terrace and Nurseries.
