Nikitsky Botanical Garden - Crimea National Park. This is a scientific enterprise created with the aim of breeding various types of plants, developing the country's crop production and sharing experience with foreign colleagues.
Where is the Nikitsky Botanical Garden
This wonderful place is located in the village of Nikita in Yalta. A never-ending stream of people wishing to admire the extraordinary vegetation is sent here daily. Even if tourists do not know the exact address, then any local will tell you where the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is located. How to get to the park is of interest to many vacationers. From the center of Yalta, buses go here. By this transport you can reach your destination in 10-15 minutes. Minibuses go from the Yalta clothing market. From anywhere in Crimea, buses, taxis, trolleybuses will bring those who wish here - to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. You need to go to the stop of the same name, near which the main entrance is located. Travel guides organize a lot of excursions to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden.
Park history
It was founded in 1812 by the Russian academician Christian Steven. Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea was created with the aim of developing agriculture and crop production in the southern part of the country. To enrich domestic agriculture, relations were established with many countries of America, Europe and Asia. The Nikitsky Botanical Garden was the forerunner of new branches of crop production, such as viticulture, subtropical and southern fruit growing, tobacco growing, and decorative gardening.
Garden Plant Variety
The park has a unique arboretum - arboretum, which includes a collection of woody plants from around the world. Arboretum covers an area of 40 hectares. Walking in the garden gives the impression that they have visited every point on the planet.
A breathtaking sight is one of the best European rose collections. Visitors to the garden are always interested in a cactus plantation.
Several thousand varieties of various flowering plants include the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. Photos of some of them are in the article. The park is amazing in that at any time of the year there are flowers here, even in winter.
The species diversity of the garden is striking in its numerousness. There are whole groves of olives, junipers, Lebanese cedar, cork oak, vineyards, flower plantations and many exotic plants.
Despite the hot climate, it is in the park that you can find a cool corner in the shade of trees. The air here is thick and saturated, incredibly clean thanks to the continuous operation of the "green lungs".
Rare plants
Nikitsky Botanical Garden in the Crimea is inhabited by many rare plants. These are figs, feijoa, marzipan, jujube, Lankaran acacia. Of the blooming ones here , the Japanese genomeles, male dogwood, Erica ruddy, primrose, small periwinkle, jasmine turned away, hellebore are always pleasing to the eye.
Foreign colleagues not only willingly share their experience, but also actively adopt it from Russian breeders. So, in England they grow yalta saffron.
Excursions
In such an amazing place, of course, many excursions are organized. The easiest way to get to one of them is to buy a ticket at the entrance, then wait on the bench until a group is gathered. The duration of a journey through the garden is about one hour. It is impossible to inspect the entire collection of plants during this time, but at the allotted time it will be possible to see palm alleys, olive groves, rose plantations, a glade with yuccas, a bamboo grove. On the way, a breathtaking view of Mount Ai-Petri, the sea and Yalta. There is a water cascade with blooming magnolias and giant plane trees. A grotto with goldfish and a greenhouse of orchids complete an excursion to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, a photo of which will become an indispensable decoration of home albums.
In addition, you can get on a tour from anywhere in the Crimea. As groups are completed, or on certain days of the week, tourists are brought here in an organized manner.
Just a couple of years ago, it became possible to make a trip to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden on an electric car. This small car with a capacity of six passenger seats will allow you to explore the beauty of the garden in less time. The idea appeared primarily to facilitate disabled people visiting the park. The price of the excursion by electric car is slightly higher than the cost of a walk.
Flower Holidays
The highlight of the park are regularly held flower festivals. Each of them has its own name, for example, “Carnival of irises”, “Ball of chrysanthemums”, “Parade of tulips”. The endless plantations, represented by a full range of rainbow colors, are truly a fascinating sight! During each holiday, a huge number of flowers are exhibited - the heroes of the event. Then, by voting of all comers, the queen or the king of the ball is chosen - a certain variety of flowers. At the end of the holiday you can buy your favorite plants.
Botanical Garden Structure
The park in Nikita is divided into several zones: Upper and Lower Parks, Seaside and Montedor Park. The upper park is located in the center of the garden. He was conceived as a place for walking. The lower park is the oldest part of the garden, and the "youngest" is located on the cape of the same name - Montedor.
For the convenience of visitors, there is a cafe, shops with seedlings and seeds. At the entrance to the park are souvenir shops, bookstores with special literature about the park. The botanical garden has special lighting, as well as musical accompaniment.
Upper park
In this part of the park there are administrative buildings - scientific departments and laboratories. Bamboo grove, evergreen stone oak - such plants meet visitors to Nikitsky Botanical Garden in the central part. Here, as well as in other areas of the park, stands from all continents are represented. Bamboo, for example, comes from China, and stone oak grows on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. He adapted very well in this area, so the whole alleys of these trees adorn the Crimea. The Nikitsky Botanical Garden is also represented by other magnificent tree giants. These are plane trees, firs, giant sequoiadendrons. The latter are also called mammoth trees. They came here from America.
Since the park was planted on the site of an old garden, representatives of local vegetation are found here - fluffy oak, dull pistachio, and small-fruited strawberries. These trees are much older than their exotic "brothers". For example, yew berry counts 500 years from the start of planting. This beautiful coniferous tree is very characteristic of a city like Yalta. Nikitsky Botanical Gardens is the owner of a wonderful rose garden, which grows such varieties of flowers as Red Poppy, Star Sister, Clementine, Bakhchisarai Fountain and others.
Not only rare plant varieties impress tourists. Walking through the garden, one cannot but notice how here and there spectacular views of Yalta open.
Lower park
Long-living in the lower part of the garden is an olive grove. It is thermophilic, drought-resistant and interesting in a practical sense. It is an evergreen Mediterranean culture. Oak, plane tree, pine, cypress - such powerful trees can be found while walking in the Lower Park. Shrubs grow along skillfully designed alleys: Crimean ivy, Pontic needle, Crimean cistus. Thanks to them, the park takes on an elegant and finished look. Shrubs such as bougainvillea, oleander, and crimson bloom beautifully.
The exotic flora of the Lower Park is represented by: cork oak, whose homeland is considered to be Portugal, Chinese two-lobed ginkgo, banana brought from Japan, Mediterranean laurel, large-flowered magnolia. The garden is inhabited by representatives of the Red Book. Among them is a strawberry tree. The age of this tree can reach up to 1000 years. Strawberries often decorate parks and gardens, it is interesting in the purple color of the bark.
There are such thermophilic plants as persimmons, figs, medlar. An interesting giant pine named after the leader of the Aztecs - Montezuma.
Seaside park
A little more than a hundred years ago, a truly paradise was opened in the garden - Seaside Park, covering an area of 20 hectares. The warmest part of the garden is reserved mainly for eastern thermophilic vegetation. Here palms, citruses, agaves, dracaena, acacia, araucaria and many others found their place. Seaside Park is decorated in Japanese-Chinese style.
After a break in work, the renewed site of the botanical garden started working again. Landscape designers, who have worked hard to create an updated project, have made changes in the style of the park, adding a bit of modernity.
The "trick" of the Seaside Park is the eastern gods of happiness. In fact, these are plants trimmed in such a way that they take the form of a person, a beast or some kind of mythical creature. Sitting in the gazebo, you can talk with one of the gods or turn to several at once. Each of them is “responsible” for a certain area of human life. These are Daikoku, Fukurokuju, Hotei-osho, Ebisu, Benzai, Bishamon, and Jurodzin.
According to the ancient Japanese tradition, every god promises a person happiness, but not money. So, Daikoku patronizes the peasants, gives food and guards the kitchen. Fukurokuju is asked for long life and well-being. Hotei-osho is portrayed with a bag from which he distributes to all those in need the most necessary. Ebisu patronizes workers of various professions. Benzai is a goddess who helps to master art - singing, drawing, literature, as well as wisdom. Bashyamonu pray for the protection of warriors. Jurodzin is portrayed with a scroll in which the secret of a happy life is written.
Montedor
The youngest park is located on Cape Montedor and counts a little more than fifty years from the beginning of its existence, which may be why it is visited a little less often than the rest. Pitsunda pine grows here , which now remains only on the southern coast of Crimea. Fluffy oak, juniper - one of the few coniferous "inhabitants" of Montedor. The relic plant of the park is considered to be a metasequoia. For a long time considered a disappeared species, it was discovered in China in the twentieth century by scientists. Metasequoia has soft needles that fall in the winter.
The grove of old mammoth trees, the plantings of Mexican cypress and gutta-percha tree are amazing in their beauty.
Finally
The Nikitsky Botanical Garden in 2014 is a place of the Crimean Peninsula, grandiose in scale and breathtaking in terms of entertainment. People from all over the world come to see the beauty of the park. Gathering impressions, learning a lot, or acquiring an unusual plant is a small part of the functions that the Nikitsky Botanical Garden performs today. The site of the park - nbgnsc.com - will allow you to learn more about the plant species of interest, the scientific works of the enterprise, and the schedule of exhibitions.