Scarborough Botanical Garden

Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

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Scarborough Botanical Garden in Scarborough, Tobago, is a small, gently sloping hilltop garden of about 17–18 acres laid out on a former sugar plantation, overlooking the town and bay. Established in the late 19th century as a Crown Reserve during the British colonial era, it was designed for public enjoyment and botanical preservation, and today functions much like a leafy public park with broad lawns, shaded paths, and views. The garden features a mix of tropical trees and ornamentals, including royal poinciana, silk-cotton, saman, African tulip, mango and almond trees, an avenue of royal palms, and beds with orchids, bromeliads and other exotic species introduced from West Africa and Central America. Historically, its staff played a role in cocoa cultivation innovations—being among the first in Trinidad and Tobago to bud cocoa plants at a time when cocoa was becoming a major crop—adding agricultural significance to its landscape heritage. Today the garden is valued as a calm, easily accessible green space in central Scarborough, with multiple entrances off Gardenside Street and nearby roads, offering shade, birdlife and quiet relaxation even though plant labeling and interpretive signage remain limited.