Hope Gardens

These 45-acre gardens, replete with manicured grounds, exotic plants and beautiful flowers, date back to 1881 when the government established an experimental garden on the site of the former Hope Estate. Part of the Hope Aqueduct, built in 1758 to supply the estate, is still in use. The Ministry of Agriculture, which administers the gardens, maintains a research station and nursery, although the gardens have been in steady decline for some decades and are now in a somewhat sad state. This is not to say that a visit is not rewarding; the spacious lawns, towering palms and flower-scented walkways provide a lovely respite from the urban jungle. Among the attractions are cycads, or ‘sago palms, ’ from the antediluvian era. There’s a sunken garden, forest garden, orchid house, greenhouses, a small aquarium, ornamental ponds and a privet-hedge maze. The frankly pathetic, ironically named Hope Zoo is home to a motley crew of disenchanted monkeys, lions, tropical birds and other unhappy creatures. Visitors are apt to marvel more at the sad state of the surroundings than at the wonders of the animal kingdom.