117. St. Petersburg Parks #5 - Botanical Garden of Peter the Great
The St. Petersburg Botanical Garden is located north of the city center on the Petrograd side, at the eastern edge of Aptekarsky Island. The institution was founded by an order from Peter the Great in 1714 and is one of the oldest such gardens in Russia.
There are more greenhouses here than I'm used to seeing at a botanical garden. One or two large greenhouses, or perhaps a handful of smaller structures, might be considered average based on my anecdotal experience, but there were numerous large buildings here. I expect that's because of the relative unsuitability of the climate during much of the year for growing any plants that belong in a tropical or subtropical climate. St. Petersburg's location at a latitude of 59.9343° North puts it at the extreme northern edge of the temperate zone, as well.
The gardens include several large buildings, one of which houses a botanical museum (which I did not visit). I also did not go inside any of the greenhouses. They are open exclusively to visitors who are with a guided tour, so I could not wander in by myself. I did check the atrium of the building where the tour group was forming, but there appeared to be a bit of a wait before the next group would leave and the tour would have been entirely in Russian anyway, so I opted to spend my time out in the gardens on my own.
The overall area of the Botanical Garden is larger than I've seen in most other cities. The majority of the land is used for wooded areas, and the garden plantings occupy a relatively small space. There is a nice transition zone between the formal gardens and wooded areas, with one gradually merging into the other. There is modest signage in the more built-up garden areas - both interpretive signs as well as individual plant labels - but the eastern side of the gardens is largely sign-free. This is perhaps the best place in central St. Petersburg to escape the built environment and crowds of people.
There are more greenhouses here than I'm used to seeing at a botanical garden. One or two large greenhouses, or perhaps a handful of smaller structures, might be considered average based on my anecdotal experience, but there were numerous large buildings here. I expect that's because of the relative unsuitability of the climate during much of the year for growing any plants that belong in a tropical or subtropical climate. St. Petersburg's location at a latitude of 59.9343° North puts it at the extreme northern edge of the temperate zone, as well.
The gardens include several large buildings, one of which houses a botanical museum (which I did not visit). I also did not go inside any of the greenhouses. They are open exclusively to visitors who are with a guided tour, so I could not wander in by myself. I did check the atrium of the building where the tour group was forming, but there appeared to be a bit of a wait before the next group would leave and the tour would have been entirely in Russian anyway, so I opted to spend my time out in the gardens on my own.
The overall area of the Botanical Garden is larger than I've seen in most other cities. The majority of the land is used for wooded areas, and the garden plantings occupy a relatively small space. There is a nice transition zone between the formal gardens and wooded areas, with one gradually merging into the other. There is modest signage in the more built-up garden areas - both interpretive signs as well as individual plant labels - but the eastern side of the gardens is largely sign-free. This is perhaps the best place in central St. Petersburg to escape the built environment and crowds of people.
I love the English translation on this sign: "The Alley of St. Petersburg's Not Indifferent Residents"! Rather than the literal translation of "not indifferent", "небезразличных" might be better translated as "caring" or "civic-minded".
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