Description of the attraction
The Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia is located in the capital of Latvia. It was founded in 1922 and has been continuously replenished since then. Now, on the territory of 15 hectares, there are collections of 5400 various plants. The collections are unique, featuring plants from all continents and geographic zones.
Each visitor to the Botanical Garden will be able to choose a plant for home, garden, water and other purposes from a wide range of plants presented. The specialists working here will provide you with comprehensive information on horticulture and floriculture, as well as plant protection and care features. In addition, by prior arrangement, you can take part in seminars covering the issues of plant reproduction, the peculiarities of their cultivation, information on plant diseases and pests, as well as their application in everyday life.
Plants of the tropics, subtropics, succulents and azaleas are displayed in the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia. Central to the greenhouse complex is the palm greenhouse, which features subtropical plants. The height of the palm greenhouse is 24 meters, about 400 plants are presented at the exposition. Here there is a large collection of palms, represented by 48 species, as well as one of the oldest greenhouse plants - large-leaved ficus, which has been growing here since 1928. Here you can also look at the fruit crops of the subtropics: banana, fig, lemon, etc.
In the greenhouse, where the flora of the tropics is represented, there is always high humidity and air temperature. Here you can get acquainted with 350 species of plants. The Araliaceae family, a collection of tropical ferns, and orchids are especially well represented. In the pools, you can admire the largest plant in the water lily family - Victoria, which will be remembered for its fragrant flowers.
There are about 700 plant species in the succulent greenhouse, 345 of which are cacti. Succulents are herbaceous or woody plants that have adapted to arid conditions. Cacti differ from other succulents by the presence of thorns.
On the territory of the Botanical Garden there is another greenhouse, in which azaleas are represented. These are low evergreen shrubs obtained by multi-stage crossing. The first varieties appeared in Europe in the 19th century. The first collection of azaleas was created in the 30s of the 20th century, but it died during the Second World War. The collection began in 1956. At the moment, there are 124 cultivars in the collection.
Herbaceous perennials appeared in the garden's collection in the 1920s and 1930s. 20th century, then the first rock garden was created. Approximately in the middle of the last century, an exposition of alpine plants was created, arranged according to a geographical principle. Today, the exposition of herbaceous perennials numbers about 1300 varieties, the collection can be viewed from spring to autumn. The decorative and ecological exposition includes 7 gardens: a rocky garden, a phlox garden, a lily garden, a dahlia garden, a rhododendra garden, a rose garden, and a heather garden. In each of them, 3 groups of landings can be distinguished: background, main and additional.
The most extensive outdoor exhibition is the arboretum, which covers an area of 9 hectares. It was founded in the 30s, the first seedlings were brought from a Berlin nursery. In the beginning, trees and shrubs were arranged according to a systematic principle, i.e. planting plants by families. However, this landing plan was only partially complied with. In the 50s. of the last century, a collection of thujas and cypresses was laid. Later, trees and shrubs were grown from cuttings brought from other botanical gardens.
The newest and so far the only one in Latvia is the exhibition of bog plants, created in 2006. On the territory of 120 m², conditions close to marsh have been created. Plants typical for Latvian swamps are grown here: andromeda, cranberry, etc.
Since the founding of the Botanical Garden, work has been carried out to study mosses and lichens. On the territory of Latvia, about 500 species of moss have been recorded, about 40 species have been identified on the territory of the garden, they grow on the ground, roofs, stones and walls of greenhouses. In addition, mushrooms have been discovered on the territory of the garden, which settled here spontaneously. Moreover, there are mushrooms both visible to the naked eye and microscopic.
In the middle of summer, during the flowering of linden trees, a festival is held in the botanical garden that brings together gardeners, breeders and gardeners who like to enjoy the achievements of Latvian gardeners, the variety of garden plants, get inspired by ideas for their garden and experience summer, enjoying the magic of colors, sounds and smells. During the exhibition, you can buy and sell plants, goods and gardening books.
A visit to the Botanical Garden is a great opportunity to get acquainted with plants from all over the world, as well as look at interesting and unusual plants, learn about the peculiarities of their cultivation and caring for them.
