Description of the attraction
The Adelaide Botanical Gardens are three separate projects: the Historic Botanical Gardens in the city center, Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens and Wittunga Botanical Gardens.
The main Botanical Garden (about 34 hectares) was founded in 1857. Here you can see plants from all over the world, as well as several trees planted in the century before last! The garden has created and maintains a very favorable subtropical climate for plants (average temperature +28 degrees). And the abundance of sunny days allows plants from various regions of the Earth to get along: those that love moisture, and those that live in the mountains, steppes and even in the desert. By the way, in the garden you can see a whole grove of Russian birches.
The first glass greenhouse was built in the Botanical Gardens specifically for the cultivation of the unique Victorian water lily in 1868. Its flowering process even made it to the front pages of local newspapers!
The second large greenhouse - "House of Palms" - was built in 1877. The greenhouse is notable not only for its extensive collection of plants of the Madagascar savannah, but also for its Victorian architecture.
In 1996, the National Rose Test Garden was opened on the grounds of the Botanical Garden - the first garden in Australia where roses are tested for suitability for the Australian climate. Roses, by the way, are amazing here - noisette roses, bourbon roses, tea roses, rose hips, etc.
In addition, in the Botanical Garden you can visit the Mediterranean Aquatic Garden, admire the blooming lotuses and learn about the history of plant growing at the local museum. Or you can just sit on the lawn under a tree and relax, forgetting that you are in the center of a bustling city. More than 1.5 million people visit the Adelaide Botanical Garden every year. Free admission.
The second botanical garden is located half an hour from the center of Adelaide on the eastern slope of Mount Lofty. The park received its first visitors in 1977 - then, on an area of 80 hectares, one could get acquainted with plants of a temperate climate. Today the garden is divided into seven valleys, in each of which certain groups of plants are grown. And these are already representatives of almost all climatic zones of the world - magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias, roses, peonies, ferns of Australia, exotic deciduous and coniferous trees. The highlight of the garden is the stunning view of the Adelaide Valley from 180 meters above sea level.
Finally, the third Wittunga Botanical Garden, opened to the public in 1975, features a collection of plants from Australia and South Africa. South African specimens were collected in the Cape Province of South Africa, which has a very similar climate to that of Australia. The collection of Australian plants has been collected from the Floro Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the territories of Western Australia.
