Set on a 22-acre site abutting the southern coast, this is a must for garden lovers with a head-turning collection of familiar favourites and rare plants. It is all the more impressive when you consider that this was the site of a hospital for respiratory diseases, home to many TB sufferers in Victorian times and only converted to a Botanic Garden 27 years ago. The sub-tropical Undercliff area in which the Botanic Garden is located makes it an ideal environment for a rare collection of trees, plants and shrubs which are hard to grow elsewhere in the UK. These include the sweet-smelling clerodendron. There is also a temperate house with a selection of exotic plants. The garden's newest draw is a lottery-funded visitor centre with facilities that include interactive exhibition areas. There are plants for sale too. There is also a cafe and gift shop at the visitor centre, and a children's play area and a picnic site which all add to the attractions of the garden.

The garden site was at one time a Royal National Hospital for diseases of the chest and for 80 years it was a major factor in Isle of Wight life at Ventnor. But with the discovery of an effective treatment for tuberculosis the hospital became redundant and soon deteriorated beyond repair. It was demolished in 1969.