It is around 4 degrees Celsius in Saint Petersburg when they arrive at the Botanic Garden of Peter the Great. The visit is well planned, just in time to tag along with the guided tour. The guide is the head gardener for the gardens. The tour language is, of course, Russian. But they have their personal translator and guide to assist.
The first of more than 20 greenhouses is home to a paradise of ferns. Already it is warmer than outside, and the humidity is immediately evident. The other spontaneous relief comes from the fact that all the plants are labelled. International conventions of nomenclature apply. As well, the date of the plant’s introduction to the garden, is shown on the label. So, what is missed in the commentary is more than compensated by the labelling.
Over the next hour or so, outer garments are removed as the group is led through temperate zones, to arid desert, to tropical and sub-tropical forests. True to the charter of a botanical garden, every continent is visited along the way. There are sighs when the age of some specimens is explained, over 200 years in some cases. The successors to Peter the Great have done a great job, compiling and nurturing this collection.
Emerging from the last greenhouse, hats, scarves and coats are rapidly put on. It is still very chilly on the outside.
Peter the Great founded this garden in 1714, initially as a herb garden for medicinal purposes. It became known as the Imperial Botanic Garden in 1823. It is the oldest botanical garden in Russia, and now belongs to the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The total garden occupies 18.9 ha. The garden features 25 greenhouses constructed in 1823-4. Not all are open to the public, and those that are open only allow guided visits. The park is closed to visitors from October to May.
