The greenhouse complex of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden

The history of the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden began at that time, in 1714. Only then it was called much more modest - "Apothecary garden". According to the plan of the king-reformer, it was supposed to grow here, first of all, as the name implies, medicinal herbs. Not only that. Rare and interesting overseas plants also came here. Moreover, collecting "curious and alien" plants was one of the duties of his employees. Collections grew, richer. Some plants were discharged from abroad, others were brought by scientists from expeditions.

In 1823, the "Apothecary Garden" of Peter I became the Imperial Botanical Garden. It was then that he stopped supplying the pharmacies of the city with the freshest medicinal raw materials. But now the opportunities for collecting, due to increased funding, have increased. By the middle of the century, the collection of the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg was one of the richest in the world, even despite the terrible flood of 1824 that destroyed many valuable specimens. Unfortunately, this was not the last case of mass destruction of exhibits of the flora museum. During the Great Patriotic War, despite the efforts of its employees, thousands of plants died. Almost everything had to start over.

The Botanical Garden on the Pharmacy Island is beautiful at any time of the year. The park surrounding greenhouses, for example, is particularly magnificent in summer. Thousands of flowers brought from all over the world bloom, forming a truly paradise in one single corner of St. Petersburg. The fragrance of the rose bush, even in our age of shop floral abundance, striking with a wealth of forms and shades, tight petals of lilies, trembling irises, demonstrating on their lace petals all the colors possible in nature.