Botanical garden in Liberec
When I was planning trips for our holiday in the Jizera Mountains, the Botanical garden in Liberec was one of the places which caught my attention, especially for the architecture of its greenhouses and for its new „Water Lily Pavilion“. The garden greatly exceeded my expectations which is why I would like to present it to you.
The Botanical garden in Liberec is the oldest botanical garden in the Czech Republic. It started its operation in 1895 and its purpose was primarily to provide green vegetation for the town. During both world wars its condition deteriorated, it served mostly as a market garden. At last in 1954, it was changed into a scientific and educational institution.
The garden includes outdoor and indoor expositions including a small rustic garden (see the dill above) and satirical “depressive garden” (which we didn’t find fortunately). In the years 1995 – 2000, the garden’s old greenhouses were dismantled and a new complex of nine greenhouse pavilions was built. The pavilions stand close together and when viewed from above, they are said to resemble a cluster of vegetable cells. Inside they are all interconnected in one structure. There is the ground floor and first floor with thematic flower expositions and in the middle, there are aquariums.
The bonsai below is part of the exposition. It is quite special and unique as it comes from Japan and has been grown in Europe for more than 130 years. It was brought from Japan to Vienna in 1882, trained by several owners and finally in 1977 it was donated to the Botanical garden. Based on historical evidence it is estimated to be at least 230 years old.
In 2003, a CITES rescue centre was established in the garden based on a decision of the Department of the Environment of the Czech Republic. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) is one of the most important international agreements aimed at inspection of trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora.
In 2014, a new greenhouse pavilion intended for growing water lilies including huge water lilies of Victoria species was opened to the public. This pavilion stands separately from the cluster and because of the life cycle of the lilies, it is open only in summer.
The garden is not large and obviously it went through better and worse times but it is still in the game, looking for new projects and opportunities. Obviously a lot of professional work has been done there and it is a nice and interesting place to visit. I keep my fingers crossed for it to prosper and develop further.
