select - botanic gardens (Part 3)
Written by Brian Johnston
Everyone appreciates a garden, whether for shady green spaces, colourful blossoms, or the ever-changing seasonal spectacle provided by nature – with a helping hand from humans. Botanic gardens also reveal national tastes and cultural aspirations, making them delightful places to visit. Here is our pick of some of the best.
Ho Chi Minh City
Established under the French in 1864 at the same time as the adjoining zoo, the botanic garden is notable for its architecture, including a temple that imitates the design of the royal palace in Hue, and another that resembles Beijing’s Summer Palace in miniature. The garden has notable bonsai, cactus, and orchid collections, as well as showcasing rare and valuable species of both native and exotic plants such as Chinese incense cedars. The banks of its shady lotus pond are a favoured picnic spot for locals seeking to escape the urban concrete. There is also a small funfair for children and several eateries serving pho, a much-loved noodle-and-soup dish. Come early in the morning and you’ll see elderly residents practicing badminton and tai chi. The grounds are also home to the Saigon National Museum.
WHY
Adjacent to the zoo in District 1 of the city, with gates on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street.
WHERE
Vietnam’s largest botanic garden, and notable for its shady collection of 2,000 tropical trees.
HOW TO GET THERE
Qatar Airways has daily flights from Doha to Ho Chi Minh City.
Shiraz
One of Iran’s most famous historical gardens, Bagh-e Eram (or Garden of Paradise) was built during the 19th-century Qajar era and once belonged to the Persian royal family. Today it is owned by the University of Shiraz. Laid out in a blend of Iranian and Western styles around a long axis of cypress trees, it is noted for groves of orange trees and ornamental ponds and fountains. For those of a scientific bent, many of the trees in the gardens are labelled in English and Farsi, making a wander around both an educational and aesthetic experience. At the garden’s northern end stands a flamboyant royal palace encrusted with mirrored tiles, stucco work, and elaborate wooden carvings. The gardens are popular with elderly couples and university students, who sit chatting on benches under the cypress trees.
WHY
On Eram Street in the northwest of the city, and part of the grounds of the University of Shiraz.
WHERE
HOW TO GET THERE
Qatar Airways commences twice weekly flights from Doha to Shiraz from June 5.
