Formerly called the Royal Botanical Gardens of Pamplemousses, among several other names, the garden is the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1988, it was renamed in honour of the late Prime Minister.

The garden covers roughly 37 hectares and is home to a collection of more than 85 varieties of palms from Asia, Africa, Central America and the Indian Ocean, many of which have been planted by world leaders and royalty.

The garden includes royal palms, bottle palms, talipot palms and pandanus palms, as well as ebony and mahogany.