To be an internationally recognised garden and botanic institution focused on enhancing knowledge and understanding for the responsible management of our natural resources.

Opened on 27 November 2003, TROPICAL SPICE GARDEN is an agrotourism project showcasing over 500 varieties of exotic and endemic tropical flora, particularly spices, spread over eight acres of secondary jungle. This project is endorsed by the Penang State Government and privately funded by Bertam Consolidated Rubber Co. Ltd., a company involved in palm oil estates in Malaysia. The main focus of the Garden is to create awareness of the natural environment and the importance of plants through its vital programmes of conservation, education and research.

To design and develop the Garden, a local team was assembled including landscape designers, Lim In Chong and Frederick Walker. With conservation and education rooted into the design concept, the team took on the challenge of harmonising over 500 species of tropical flora with the natural valley fronting the Strait of Malacca. Preservation of the indigenous flora and fauna together with maintaining the original topography of the site was crucial to achieving this objective. Water was to be a prominent feature. Natural and recycled building materials salvaged from pre-war shop houses or sourced from antique stores locally were used extensively in the construction of the built structures. Our Garden uses organic compost and biological pest control in its quest for biological diversity and environmental awareness.