 The botanic gardens have been located on their present site since 1970 before being officially opened in 1988 by the then Chancellor Dame Margot Fonteyn and now attract some 80,000 visitors annually.The garden has an array of exotic plants with collections ranging from Chile in South America, China and Japan in the Far East, as well as from Southern Africa and New Zealand.The garden is also home to an arboretum, Alpine garden and bamboo grove.