Creative Zugdidi
Botanical garden
Zugdidi Botanical Garden of national importance of Georgia It is an innumerable monument of cultural heritage, which belongs to the city In the center, the historical-architectural museum of Dadiani palaces It is planted nearby.
The Zugdidi Botanical Garden is an innumerable monument of cultural heritage of national importance of Georgia, which is planted in the center of the city, adjacent to the historical-architectural museum of Dadian palaces. The area of the garden is 26 hectares, it is located at an altitude of 122 m above sea level. With the mentioned geographical location and climatic conditions, the botanical garden is one of the best bases for the introduction, research and acclimatization of valuable subtropical plants.
The history of the botanical garden is connected with the history of the construction of the residence of the local ruling dynasty, the Dadians. Its construction began in the second half of the 18th century.
However, in 1840, Davit Dadian, the head of Samegrelo, laid the foundation for a European-style decorative garden. The Queen of Samegrelo, Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadian, ordered the necessary material (seeds and seedlings) from the garden of the French King Louis Philippe's Palace of Versailles (Paris) and Milan (Italy), and specially invited the famous specialist gardener Joseph Babin from Trieste (Italy) to plan the garden.
Based on the French symmetrical style and the Italian principle of cultivation, Joseph Babin created a European-style decorative garden with flower beds, lawns, artificial and natural landscapes, alleys, a pond and an island, a nursery and an orangery, in which he planted rare varieties of exotic plants.
In 1869, the second phase of the renovation of the garden began actively, when Queen Catherine invited Gaetano Zamberlet (later his brother - Giovanni) from Farese (Italy) as a gardener-decorator.
To this day, the territory of the garden is decorated with trees imported from India, Japan, Italy, North America and other countries, as well as local endemic species, as well as other plants, the species of which exceed 200, and according to specialists, many of them have no analogues in the Caucasus region. The total number of trees and plants reaches 8000 units.
The botanical garden is known for its unique plants and shrubs. Among them, the plants included in the "Red Book" and the global red list (the boxwood, - Taxus baccata, and the common chestnut - Cestanea sativa, the walnut tree, - Juglans regial, the boxwood - Buxus colchica, the stone tree - Zelkova carpinifolia, the noble laurel - Laurus Nobilis and others).
In 2017-2019, Zugdidi Botanical Garden underwent complete infrastructural rehabilitation. Fragments of historical-architectural and archeological monuments preserved to this day were identified.
The botanical garden is an integral part of the history of Zugdidi, it is a sample of cultural heritage of national importance of the country, which has a noteworthy historical value.
Historically, the garden has played an important role in shaping the unique appearance of the city and in creating a rich collection of exotic plants, as well as having a large educational function. It became the center of introduction of valuable plants in Samegrelo, from which hundreds of foreign plants were widely introduced among the population, many gardens, squares and parks were planted in the villages, towns and cities of Samegrelo.
On the territory of the Zugdidi Botanical Garden, there are several first-class archaeological and historical-architectural objects (cross palace, orangery, government palace, etc.).
On October 1, 2007, the historical-architectural complex of Zugdidi Dadiani palaces and the botanical garden was awarded the status of a material cultural heritage monument of national importance of Georgia.