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Chester Zoo Gardens

Chester Zoo is home to some truly magnificent gardens, which have gained nationwide acclaim through a number of awards. The gardens and plants make Chester Zoo a beautiful place to visit and you will see a plant life even more diverse than all of the animal species that the zoo contains!

The famous flowerbeds at the centre of Chester Zoo were originally designed by Philip Gallop, the first Head Gardener at the zoo, under the watchful eye of zoo founder George Mottershead. Since then, the gardens have been re-structured to give zoo gardeners more flexibility in creating displays. Last year, 13 new pathways and 14 new flowerbeds were added to create a dramatic new look.

Chester Zoo is also famous for its botanical conservation. The zoo has strong links with conservation bodies at national and international levels, including botanic gardens and plant conservation organisations. It is also playing an increasingly significant part in plant conservation projects. The zoo has a very large collection of Pleurothallid orchids and a fast increasing collection of cacti, amongst many other rare species of plants.

The gardens offer a very pleasant and relaxing accompaniment to seeing the animals at Chester Zoo. Not only does the zoo have extensive outdoor gardens, including Glorious Grasses, a Roman Garden and an Andes Garden, but it is also home to a wide range of Tropical plants within indoor exhibits.