Blooming of Botanical Garden
Blooming of Botanical Garden
Since the advent of flowering plants around 130 million years ago, their forms have diversified tremendously, and today they dominate most land ecosystems. Moreover, humans have created sanctuaries that nurture and propagate endangered and rare plant species, known as botanical gardens. These are organized spaces, plots of land, or facilities devoted to the cultivation, display, and often preservation of a variety of plant species, primarily for scientific research and educational purposes.
While visiting Ajara, you will have the opportunity to explore one of the most remarkable and historic botanical gardens in the world, located a short distance from Batumi. The garden, which now nurtures rare plant species, opened to visitors in 1912 and attracts thousands of tourists and visitors each year. The garden is particularly mesmerizing in spring, when most of the flowering plants are in bloom, creating an astonishing tapestry of colors and filling the air with intoxicating fragrances.
In the Batumi Botanical Garden, under the gentle spring sun, flowers truly come to life. Spring brings a profusion of blooms, teeming life, blooming trees, and bushes. Keep an eye out for asparagus, amaryllis and daffodils, lilies, chrysanthemums, and many other beautiful flowers.
Currently, the garden hosts around 170 species and varieties of flowering and herbaceous plants. Here, you'll find annual, biennial, and perennial blooming plants.
For instance, the soft blue flower of the Agaretum creates an effective backdrop and is sure to capture your attention while strolling through the garden. Conversely, the Cleome spinosa, or spiny spider flower, is far more attractive than its name suggests. This towering beauty from South America boasts impressive pink flowers that stand out even among a plethora of plants due to its significant height. Lastly, the Amant is a colorful and distinctive plant. This perennial plant, which blooms in pink, purple, and white, also originates from South America.
No botanical garden can be considered complete without the queen of flowers, the rose. At the Batumi Botanical Garden, the cultivation of roses started as soon as it was established in 1912-1914. Today, of the original varieties, only R. Marechal Niel remains. Currently, 107 species and cultivated forms of roses grace the rose collection plot of the Batumi Botanical Garden. Among them, tea hybrids, polyanthas, floribundas, and miniature and climbing roses are particularly admired for their decorative appeal.
While you can find roses in bloom at any time of the year, May is the "rose month" in Georgia, with the peak of flowering occurring from May to September when all color palettes are presented together.
In the Batumi Botanical Garden, if you venture into the East Asian section, you will encounter blooming camellias, which flower twice a year, in spring and autumn. Camellias are beautiful shrubs that put on spectacular displays of their flowers during these seasons. The Japanese camellia, a member of the tea family, is an evergreen woody shrub that's abundantly represented in the Batumi Botanical Garden. Its flowers come in a range of colors, from white to red.
Various varieties of camellias were planted here in the 1880s, even before the establishment of the botanical garden. As the owner of the oldest and most diverse collections of camellias, the Botanical Garden has been a member of the International Camellia Society since 2016.
Interestingly, 40 percent of the garden's living plant collection originates from the East Asian section. This is largely because the climatic conditions of this geographical area, particularly the humid subtropics of Japan, closely resemble the climatic conditions of Ajara.
While it's true that spring is when many plants burst into bloom, the unique charm of Batumi Botanical Garden is that it captivates visitors all year round. At any season, you can always find some plants in bloom here. While the garden is particularly enchanting in spring and summer, it also offers delights in autumn and winter.
During the winter months, the garden is home to a number of plants that bloom even in cold weather: Japanese camellias, Campbell's magnolia, the paper tree or Broussonetia papyrifera, Japanese mahonia, Eupatorium, the star magnolia of the 'Merrill' variety, silver wattle or Acacia dealbata, and medlar which flowers in December with its beautiful, delicate white blossoms. Other plants like certain species of magnolia, abelia, and eupatorium also bloom during this season.
