[1] The garden is contiguous to Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve.

The garden has a cool temperate climate because its altitude is 5,500 feet above sea level.

[3] The garden was established in 1861, under George Henry Kendrick Thwaites as an experimental cultivation of cinchona, a commercial crop thriving at the time.

The place finds mention in the Ramayana as Ashok Vatika.

[3] Over 10,000 species of flora are planted here and during the spring season in Nuwara Eliya, thousands of visitors come to see the blooms here.