"The South Cultures" Arboretum

Just over 20 ha arboretum is located on the Black Sea coast, near Adler, on the left bank of the Mzymta delta. The arboretum isn’t very big, but it is one of the most exotic arboreta in Russia. One can find a great collection of the rarest plants in the arboretum; some of these plants grow only here and nowhere else in Russia.

The park was founded on the territory of St- Petersburg governor-general D. Drachevsky’s estate “Fortuitous” in 1905-1910. A well-known garden decorator A.E. Regel made the project of the park. This park serves as a model of Russian garden art. Its style includes regular elements, for instance, a huge parterre in the south part of the park; that was quite a typical feature for the late 19th-century landscape school.

A system of paths is one of the major composition elements of the park, which divide park into the curtains. Groups of the conifers consist of firs, cedars, pines, cypresses, cryptomerias; groups of deciduous consist of magnolia, rhododendrons, camphor laurels, bay laurels, platanus. Such rare species as blue and sacred firs, atlas cedar, white cedar, camellias have planted on the glades. Packing of bamboos, palms, pampas grass makes some corners of the park especially exotic.

Park avenues are very picturesque thanks to their deodar cedars, firs and tulip trees. Ornamental ponds create an atmosphere of fabulous mystery and brighten up a composition of the park.
The biggest pond with small islands and bridges is located to the east of the main avenue. Another pond, located not far from the former, was created by the extension of the local brook. Park contains the biggest and most unique collection of exotic plants in Russia. An oriental cherry, a fullmoon maple, a Japanese camellia, a hybrid rhododendron, a viburnum and other ornamental species form this collection. Plants grown in the park used to be the main source for parks of the Black sea coast.

The present-day park collection numbers more than 700 species and forms of woody and herbaceous plants. The collection of fullmoon maples are one of the largest in Europe: it numbers 24 species. The park has big collections of viburnum, conifers and evergreen plants. Some plants, for example, Delavay's Magnolia, exist in a single specimen in Russia. The main mission of the park is to acclimatize plants from North and South America, the Mediterranean, Australia, Caucasia, Japan, China, North and South Africa on the Russian Black sea coast.

The park hosts tens of thousands of people every year. Students of biological and horticultural departments do their practical work there. The park supplies all Russia and near abroad with seeds and saplings of subtropical plants.

The park is located in Adler. The easiest way to get there is to walk from the city center along the pedestrian bridge across the Mzymta.

Via Joint Information Center