Well, today was a good day to go back and see the Botanical Gardens as the office was closed for cleaning and it was a cooler day than some have been lately. We took the tram out to the end and walked to short distance to the Gardens. When we got there the gate was open and we walked into the building at the gate. There was a woman at a desk and we asked if she spoke English – no. I used hand gestures to ask if we could go in. I thought maybe we had to pay but it is free to go in so we went out the other door and into the gardens. We headed first for the atrium which we could see from the road but there was a sign on the door pointing to the left so we walked around and there was no other door. We ended up back at the front door and wondered what to do as it appeared to be locked. In a few moments it opened and three men came out. With them speaking Russian and us speaking English we managed somehow to communicate that we wanted to go in. One man made a phone call and called inside for a Vera. Soon she came out and invited us in.
What a wonderful adventure this was for us. She spoke a little English. “My name is Vera. If you not understand say so.” Then she took off in Russian describing what we saw. From time to time she would add English, “This tree 52 like me.” But her enthusiasm and obvious love of the plants in the Atrium was wonderful. It was a delight to be in her world for a few moments as she took us all around and up the stairs. I almost hated to leave. Here are some pictures I took (not all of them – I took far too many) to give you a flavor of the Atrium and the gardens around it.
The Atrium at a distance.
The Atrium closer. It is actually a very old building and not in the best shape but so interesting.
Our first look inside.
Maybe you will know some of these trees and things – I don’t know most of them but it was so cool to see them all. This section is called tropical.
Looking way up
It is another world inside.
This is a Mango tree. The kind of backwards 7 is a g.
So much to see. I am just going to upload pictures with a comment here and there.
Orchids
Now we are going upstairs and looking down into the subtropical area.
And up as well.
On the left is what she called “Africa” and in the middle and right is “America.”
There was a banana tree that was huge and a “baby banana tree” as well. One tree she said was 90 years old. Imagine growing inside all those years.
Next we went outside and walked around the area.
Here is a rose garden perhaps protected by the statue standing out there.
Maybe grapevines????
Even in the middle of the gardens in the middle of the path is a manhole cover. Who knows what is under this. They are everywhere here.
So I hope you enjoyed seeing Dnepropetrovsk’s Botanical Gardens with us. We enjoyed our visit there. On the way home we stopped at another Renok – a much more upscale one that we have seen before and bought some blueberries, some green onions and some radishes. Then we walked home. It was a great adventure for us.