Tuesday 8 April 2008

Botanical garden Zagreb

Botanical garden - April


I couldn't hold my horses. I was thrilled to hear of Botanical garden's Opening of the season 2008 last week and planned to visit some time this week. But seeing all the windy weather, I thought by the time I get to visit the place, all the lovely trees in bloom will have lost half of their spring magic due to strong winds ( I know, not the kind of thing most people would worry about).
Anyway, I was punished for my wanton behaviour, as half of the garden was still temporarily inaccessible due to some digging about. I guess the gardeners and employees in there hibernated for too long. They should have done all that by now. It was sad to see some rear parts of the garden neglected. Hopefully someone will bring a touch of green thumb there soon. Nevertheless, always a pleasure to be reminded that there is more to life than cars and exhaust fumes.



The Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics was founded in 1889 by botany professor, Dr. Antun Heinz. The
garden covers a surface of 4.7 ha. The main part of the botanical garden is the arboretum, built in the style of an English garden. The flower garden is built in the French style, with strict symmetrical lines. The eastern part of the botanical garden
includes two artificial lakes, with wetland cedars growing nearby.



The four phytogeographical regions are represented: karst, alpine, Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean. Greenhouses are not open to the public, but a good portion is out in the open during the summer months (Mediterranean plants, palms, cacti and other succulents). Some 10,000 different plants species are grown in the Botanical garden. The collection is expanded with the exchange of seeds with other botanical gardens and arboreta throughout the world (some 350) or by the transfer of seeds or live plants from the original habitat.

The first plants were planted in 1892, after some preparatory work. Already by the end of that year, the garden was completed.

Always an oasis of calm in a busy city











I'm sure all of the fellow-gardeners know what I mean by saying that we are surrounded by such amazing diversity, and botanical gardens are just the right places to appreciate that.



Many old trees have surrendered
to the effects of the last years drought


I tried not to make records of the neglected parts of the garden, as I'll still give them a month or two to prove me wrong, but a certain Martian that followed me around managed to do just the opposite (I noticed that many gardeners out there are in some way related to Martians )



11 komentari:

garden girl said...

Beautiful photos as usual! What a wonderful place to visit. Thanks for sharing it!

There's an award waiting for you at my blog today! The disease is spreading. . .

garden girl said...

p.s. (I just decided. . .) Since I'm giving the award, I get to make the rules, (I don't like rules anyway,) and there are no strings attached. The award is yours whether or not you choose to pass it along. Love ya woman, and love your blog!

Priscilla George said...

Beautiful photos. What a gorgeous botanical garden. Hopefully someone will get the green thumb and makes those neglected plants better. It looks good non the less.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Violet .. I have had me head in my own garden these past few days .. clean up is taking me forever .. but I had to drop by and see this post ! The bridge over the water .. the shots of the tress .. the flowers .. everything , even the neglected parts are alive and kicking there .. beautiful !
Joy

Sisah said...

Yes, there is definitly spring in Zagreb´s Botanical Garden, which I never expected to be so beautiful! And it is interesting to read it is as old as the one in Berlin/Dahlem (1897).The name of its founder sounds German to me,but I couldn´t find anything about that prof in the net. I think there is so much to discover for garden-freaks in Croatia, I am pleased you share it ...... at least some of it virtually.

nativeplace gardener said...

Dropped by your garden, and met kristy and krusty. As promised the pixels are amazing. Eye candy. will come by again soon

VP said...

Lovely pictures :)

I'm a snapdragon too...

Viooltje said...

@ garden girl: Wow, for the 1st time Lady Greenthumb is speechless, I never even thought of my blog as a kind that would win any awards, especially with extraordinary bloggers like yourself; I'm often appalled at sort of doodling I leave behind on my blog, especially in my migraineous mood, but I never really cared as long as my green thumbing inspired me to doodle on, at least for my personal amusement. So thank you Linda for making my day. I'm out to find more victims now and spread the plague once again.

Viooltje said...

@ vanillalotus: Yes I hope so too, I'm not that picky about stuff, but Botanical garden is not some random person's backyard, and no parts should be left uncared for. At least out of respect to people who have dedicated their lives to create such an enchanting place, planted every single plant with such care and definitely made this town a richer place. Thanks for stopping by :-)

@ Joy: but you haven't seen the neglected parts (I'm a master of disguise) and even better so, as any dedicated gardener would whip them people to do some digging up. I'm off to see what princess Emma is doing over there and if Sophie is still in one piece.

Anonymous said...

Well, perhaps they hibernated due to Bush's visit. We blame most everything around here on him!
Brenda

Viooltje said...

@ Sisah, glad to see you visiting again. Yep, the name sounds German and I believe he had German/Austrian roots but that wasn't so weird at the time. Anyway, he definitely created his masterpiece here. There is definitely a lot to discover for nature lovers, as many places are still virtually intact, but also there's so much that has been lost through neglecting and greed, like those beautiful, massive coastal pine and cypress forests that have been deliberately set on fire by 'land mafia' (and then the land would become designated for building and the value would skyrocket, with a blessing from the Government itself). How convenient for some and how sad for the rest of us!

@ nativeplace gardener: thanks for stopping by, and finding time to comment on my blog amid the wonderful work you do in your garden and the never ending joy of paragliding. Kristy & Krusty are feeling all posh now being popular in your lovely country.

@ VP: Thanks, yes snapdragon, it said, among other things, that "mischief was our middle name''. I can always relate to that ;-)

@ Brenda: Haha, perhaps. That wouldn't seem strange, but I think this time he's the last one to blame. Considering what and who we deal with here, he's not that bad at all. He just had the (mis)fortune to represent the most powerful country in the world, and that gives him more privilege in making a fool out of himself over his counterparts out there in the brave new world. And folks in the Botanical garden doing the Sisyphean task, that was more of a 'beer kegs, and shoveling the concrete' issue. I might apply as a headmaster there and teach them lazy people a lesson. I'd be stern and brutal and sack them for the slightest lack of green thumb legacy.;-)

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