Tbilisi Tales - Botanical Garden

Occasional tales from our life in the Republic of Georgia

We spent a lovely morning at the Botanical Gardens in Tbilisi on Saturday. The gardens have existed for more than three centuries as gardens to kings, but were officially opened to the public in 1845. The daffodils and tulips have faded, but beautiful, fragrant wisteria was in bloom everywhere, and the ponds were full of tadpoles. We were told that the lily pads will bloom in three colors next month. The gardens are one of our favorite places in Tbilisi. The staff works very hard to keep the place going with very little funding, and the gardens have recently benefitted from the benevolence of a Georgian multi-millionaire.


We're on our way to the garden!


















The Queen Tamar bridge is 1,000 years old. (The railing is a more recent addition, of course.)





The Botanical Gardens provide a spectacular view of Mother Georgia's backside. She's the huge statue that overlooks Tbilisi, holding a sword in one hand and a bowl of wine in the other.