Friday, April 10, 2009
Garden Admission Prices
There's talk that the San Francisco Botanic Garden is going to be charging for entry sometime in the not too distant future. This of course brings up the question of how Strybing compares to other gardens out there. It's a complicated question. Different gardens work differently. Some are run for profit, some by government, and some by non-profit organizations. They all have different facilities, and they all have different types of collections. Here's a survey of a few, and what they charge:
*NOTE: Single admission during high season with access to glasshouses, if any, and all parts of the garden excepting "attractions". Many gardens have free days, and lower prices during times of lower demand. Some gardens offer a discounted or free pass to just wander the grounds. Some prices are in CAD.
Some of the more pricey ones are display gardens that have become tourist attractions in their own right, as opposed to simple botanic gardens. Some of the gardens are allied with Aquariums or Zoos. Many of them have conservatories or other enclosing structures. And everyone has a different price structure.
It becomes evident that those gardens with glasshouses feel free to charge more than those without. And those gardens with large display areas seem to be more expensive as well. Or perhaps the higher fees allow them to provide more display areas and more glasshouses. A chicken and egg question.
$20 seems to be about the upper limit, and $7 is a popular pricepoint.
The Birmingham BG seems to be a good deal, with free parking, admission, and apparently a nice glasshouse. The US BG also is a good deal, but it's in Washington, D.C. - city of free admission to all manner of things.
I have not been to all these places, but I will say that Strybing competes favorably with the South Coast BG. Strybing is disadvantaged in competition against many of the other gardens by the complete lack of any conservatory space, but the collections are actually excellent in both breadth and rarity. You'll see some things at Strybing that you won't see anywhere except Andean cloud forest ... and that is actually worth something.
| Garden | Admission* | Yearly Dual Membership | Glasshouses? |
| United States BG | FREE | N/A | YES |
| Birmingham BG | FREE | $60 | YES |
| North Carolina BG | FREE | $60 | NO |
| UC Riverside BG | $1 Suggested Donation | $50 | NO |
| San Francisco BG | FREE | $75 | NO |
| Fort Worth BG | $4 | $60 | YES |
| Memphis BG | $5 | $75 | NO |
| Tucson BG | $11 | $45 | YES |
| South Coast BG | $7 | $50 | NO |
| UC BG at Berkeley | $7 | $65 | YES |
| Rio Grande BG | $7 | $59 | YES |
| San Antonio BG | $7 | $60 | YES |
| Los Angeles County BG | $7 | $70 | YES |
| Brooklyn BG | $8 | $75 | YES |
| Missouri BG | $8 | $150 | YES |
| UBC BG | $8 | $75 | NO |
| Quail BG | $10 | $75 | NO |
| Atlanta BG | $12 | $75 | YES |
| Denver BG | $12.50 | $55 | YES |
| Desert Botanical Garden | $15 | $75 | NO |
| Longwood Gardens | $16 | $105 | YES |
| Marie Selby BG | $17 | $90 | YES |
| RBG Kew | $19 | $132 | YES |
| Chicago BG | FREE, but $20 Parking | $70 | NO |
| Huntington Library | $20 | $120 | YES |
| Fairchild Tropical Garden | $20 | $77 | YES |
| New York BG | $20 | $100 | YES |
| Butchart Gardens | $28 | $104 | NO |
*NOTE: Single admission during high season with access to glasshouses, if any, and all parts of the garden excepting "attractions". Many gardens have free days, and lower prices during times of lower demand. Some gardens offer a discounted or free pass to just wander the grounds. Some prices are in CAD.
Some of the more pricey ones are display gardens that have become tourist attractions in their own right, as opposed to simple botanic gardens. Some of the gardens are allied with Aquariums or Zoos. Many of them have conservatories or other enclosing structures. And everyone has a different price structure.
It becomes evident that those gardens with glasshouses feel free to charge more than those without. And those gardens with large display areas seem to be more expensive as well. Or perhaps the higher fees allow them to provide more display areas and more glasshouses. A chicken and egg question.
$20 seems to be about the upper limit, and $7 is a popular pricepoint.
The Birmingham BG seems to be a good deal, with free parking, admission, and apparently a nice glasshouse. The US BG also is a good deal, but it's in Washington, D.C. - city of free admission to all manner of things.
I have not been to all these places, but I will say that Strybing competes favorably with the South Coast BG. Strybing is disadvantaged in competition against many of the other gardens by the complete lack of any conservatory space, but the collections are actually excellent in both breadth and rarity. You'll see some things at Strybing that you won't see anywhere except Andean cloud forest ... and that is actually worth something.
