The garden was established in 1880 by British merchant Samuel Cocking (1842–1914) as the Enoshima Botanical Garden, and featured a greenhouse (660 m²) in which he collected tropical plants. This original greenhouse was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. When in 1949 title passed to the city of Fujisawa, no trace of the greenhouse was found. However, in 2002, during reconstruction work, its brick foundation and original heating plant and boiler were discovered. In April 2003, a restored greenhouse was opened as part of the new garden.