Botanical Garden of Peter the Great

The Botanical Garden of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg is the oldest in Russia, just as the Kuntskamera became the first museum in Russia, although there were various collections of tsars before it. Peter I founded St. Petersburg in 1703 and moved the capital of Russia here. After that, different organizations appeared here, where systematic development of science and culture of the country were started. 

In 1714, by order of Peter I, an Apothecary`s Garden was founded on the northern bank of the Neva River. It was located on Apothecary Island between the Malaya Nevka and Karpovka rivers. In the Apothecary garden of Peter the Great, medicinal herbs "necessary in medical practice" began to be grown, however, the unfavorable climate of St. Petersburg did not contribute to the cultivation of heat-loving plants, and the cultivation of tropical plants was impossible.  

The first greenhouse in the Apothecary Garden of Peter the Great appeared in 1735, and the Apothecary Garden was renamed the Medical Garden. In 1823, Tsar Alexander I signed a decree on the establishment of the Imperial Botanical Garden, which was named in honor of Peter the Great. At the same time, the dilapidated greenhouses were demolished and a huge square (carre) of new greenhouses was laid, which is now the pride of the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg. Alexander I also in 1812 ordered to lay the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Yalta, where it is possible to grow southern plants and trees without greenhouses. 

Nowadays, there are large Botanical gardens in other cities of Russia; however, nowhere are there such large territories of greenhouses. They are built in the form of a square (carre) and the length of the "tropical route" along all 28 greenhouses is more than 1 kilometer. During a walk through the greenhouses, you will see a huge number of tropical plants and the pride of the Botanical Garden Peter the Great – the water greenhouse, where Victoria Amazonica, Euryale Ferox, as well as lotuses grow.

No less proud of Botanical Garden of the Peter the Great are the peony garden, the rose garden, and the iris garden. They contain various types of peonies, roses and irises. Alas, the climate of the northern capital is quite cool, so their flowering time may be short, but if you come to the Botanical Garden when they bloom, you will get great pleasure.  

Several sections of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden are reserved for the cultivation of northern plants and trees, as well as exotic plants that tolerate the cool climate of St. Petersburg. There is a small Japanese garden here. Its layout is made according to all the canons of Japanese garden art. Many plants and trees are brought from Asian regions. Inside the greenhouse square there are flower beds, where rare flowers and plants from all over the world are collected.