Description of the Garden

Zugdidi Botanical Garden is a conspicuous monument of cultural heritage of national importance of Georgia, which is located at 122 m above sea level, with an area of 26 hectares.

The garden, with its location and climate condition is one of the best source for the introduction, research and acclimatization of valuable subtropical plants.

The history of the Botanical Garden is related to the history of the construction of the residence of Samegrelo Rulers the Dadianis. The foundation for its cultivation was made around the second half of the 18th century, while these areas were still covered by impassable forests, characteristics of Kolkheti area since ancient times, from the shores of the Black Sea to the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains.
In 1840, Davit Dadiani, the head of Samegrelo, made the foundation for European-style decorative garden. Queen Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadiani ordered the necessary material (seeds and seedlings) from the garden of the King Louis Philippe Palace of Versailles (Paris) and Milan (Italy), and invited the famous specialist gardener Joseph Babin from Trieste (Italy) to plan the garden.

Based on French symmetrical style and Italian principle of cultivation, Joseph Babin arranged a European-style decorative garden with flowerbeds, lawns, artificial and natural landscapes, alleys, an island, a nursery and an orangery, which contains rare varieties of exotic plants.

Since then the introduction of species of rare plants, previously unknown to Georgia has begun. In 1869, the second stage of garden renovation begins, when Queen Ekaterine invited a gardener-decorator Gaetano Zamberletti (later his brother - Giovanni) from Farese (Italy). In 2017-2019, Zugdidi Botanical Garden completely underwent an infrastructural rehabilitation. Fragments of historical-architectural monuments preserved to this day have been identified.

The garden has played an important historical role in shaping the unique appearance of the city and creating a rich collection of exotic plants, as well as a large educational function. It became the hub of introduction of valuable plants in Samegrelo, from which hundreds of foreign plants were widely expanded among the population, many gardens, squares and parks were cultivated in the villages, towns and cities of Samegrelo.

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 famous for its unique plants and shrubs: such as Sequoia sempervirens, Cedrus deodara, Cedrus atlantica, Ginkgo biloba, Liquidambar styraciflura, Liriodendron tulipifera,Tilia Caucasica.

Magnolia species: Magnolia macrophylla, Magnolia soulangeana, Magnolia kobus, Magnolia stellata, Hydrangea macrophylla, Fragrant osmanthus, Caesalpinia Japonica,Chaenomeles japonica and etc.

The Botanical Garden is also famous for its alleys such as: Carpinus Alley, Platanus Alley, Azaleas Alley, Callistemon Alley, Golden Rain Alley, Camellia Alley and Japanese Sakura Alley.