Botanical Garden in Kielce

Description

Botanical Garden in Kielce is located in the administrative borders of Kielce City, on the south-eastern slopes of the Karczówka Mountain (339 meters high), on the crossroads of Karczówkowska Street and Jagiellońska Street. The axis of the garden is the historic Karczówkowska Street with brick stations of the Way of the Cross. It crosses and divides the area, for a distance of about 400 m, into two unequal parts, the larger one on the southern side - 12 ha and the smaller one - 3 ha on the northern side.

What makes the botanical garden so beautiful and well-adapted for the flora is its localization on the eastern slope of the Karczówka Mountain, with the downhill in the eastern and southern directions, where the difference between the highest and the lowest points is 20 m. From the higher parts of the garden you can see not only the city, but also the neighbouring ranges of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, with the Dyminy range in the foreground.

Some of the most glamorous collections of the Garden include:
Rose collection, known also as rosary (or różanka), which covers 1400 m2. In total, 4600 roses in 15 different breeds of roses have been planted there:
- roses of historical breeds: Gallica, Damask, Centifolia, Moss, Alba, Portland roses, tea roses, remontant roses; 
- modern roses: floribunda, shrub, multiflora, miniature, climbing, trunk. 
- heath that covers around 2000 m2 of the grounds. The most important here is heather Calluna vulgaris, which has been planted in big groups. On the premises there is an astounding number of 80 different variations of this species.
- a collection of bulbous, rhizome and tuber plants that takes up around 3000 m2. There are mostly members of the three families: Liceae, Iridaceae, and Amaryllidaceae. The most diverse is the collection of species and breeds of Irises. It has as many as 50 taxa.
What is more, the garden has a well-developed section with a collection of spices and medicinal plants, planted in huge boxes made of Azobe wood (47 boxes, 5m2 and 40 cm of height each). Additionally, there is an abundance of trees and shrubs in the dendrological collections, which represent both the regional flora (firs, beeches, hornbeams and oaks), and some representants of nonnative plants (Balkan, Kolkheti and East Asia forests).