In 1789, 232 acres were planted out with cinnamon trees to create these Colombo gardens
The cinnamon trade between Europe and Sri Lanka dates back to Roman times, but with other Asian countries and Africa, such commerce was underway much earlier (cinnamon appears in ancient Egypt 4,000 years ago). The Dutch created cinnamon gardens in the late 1700's to make it easier to harvest and control the supply of a commodity highly prized for its sweetness and taste around the world.
The cinnamon tree is native to South Asia. These cinnamon gardens today are one of Colombo's poshest residential areas, and not used to produced Ceylon cinnamon anymore.