The botanical gardens were established in the 18th century by Carl Christian Gmelin under Margrave Karl Friedrich (1746-1811). New greenhouses were added by the residence's master builder Heinrich Hübsch in 1853 to 1857.

Today, the botanical gardens are no longer such in the strictly scientific sense - at times, more than 40,000  different plants from all over the world used to grow here - but they do still accommodate twenty particularly noteworthy species of trees from various continents. Fountain basins, sculptures, a café terrasse beneath the framework of the former wintergarden and the small but lovely greenhouses with their exotic rarities all add to the charm and appeal of the gardens.

Karlsruhe's residents love their botanical gardens, in splendid bloom from spring to autumn. Many newly-weds have their photograph taken here before the picturesque backdrop of the greenhouses and beds of magnificent exotic plants.