The Arboretum

The Arboretum in Devonshire covers around twenty hectares of open lawn and planted groves in the middle of the island, on land the British military handed over in the 1950s. It was laid out with collections of palms, conifers and broadleaf trees from around the world alongside Bermudian natives, and it functions now as the island's largest public park, used for walking, dog exercise and picnics rather than as a formal botanical collection.

What you actually see

• The specimen trees - palm, conifer and broadleaf collections across the grounds.
• The open lawns - the grass areas the park is largely made of.
• The Bermudian natives - the endemic and native species planted among the exotics.
• The military origin - the land handed over by the garrison in the 1950s.

When to go

Year round; the park is open and free. Weekends bring local families. Hurricane season runs June to November and takes trees.

Honest expectations

Labelling of the collection is patchy. Hurricanes have taken many mature trees over the years. It is a park rather than a curated botanical garden.

Nearby

Hamilton is west, and Palm Grove is south.