The Garden Society of Gothenburg

Whenever we visit Gothenburgh, which we do quite often during the summer season, we try to fit in a visit to The Garden Society of Gothenburg. Now, this is not an organization, even though the name might have you believing that, but rather a really beautiful and horticulturally interesting public park.

The Garden Society of Gothenburgh is one of the best preserved 19th century parks in Europe. It is situated in the center of the city, right by the old moat. It has large open lawns, wonderful large trees, a great collection of roses, colourful flowerbeds, contemporary plantings, a woodland garden, a rock garden and a beautiful Palmhouse. But one of the best things about it; entry is free. Which means that anyone who lives in Gothenburg, anyone who visits or just walks by, can come in and experience the horticulture that you find here. Because this is not “just” a pretty park. It has some really interesting planting, unusual plants and lots of colour.

Part of the park is set aside for roses. The Garden Society of Gothenburg has a large collection and is one of the leading rosaria of Northern Europe. The roses weren’t at their best when we visited. But we visited in august and rose season is a bit earlier. We have visited earlier when all the roses was at their best, and it was truly amazing.

The beautiful Palmhouse covers almost 1000 square meters, and was inspired by the famous Crystal Palace in London. It was erected in 1878 and consists of five different climatic zones. When we visited the park we were hit by a rain shower, so we took shelter in the iconic glasshouse together with most of the other visitors to the park.

We also came across this wonderful children’s playground. An area for kids to play, but still planted very well. If I had this kind of playground when I was young, I’d never leave.