Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller, Botanical garden in Gardone Riviera, Italy
The Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller is a botanical garden in Gardone Riviera featuring around 3000 plant species from different climatic zones worldwide. The grounds include streams, waterfalls, and water basins where koi carp and trout live.
The garden was founded in 1910 by Austrian naturalist Arturo Hruska, who worked on developing it for over 60 years. He gathered plants during his travels around the world and brought them here.
Sculptures by Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, and Auguste Rodin sit among the plants, alongside traditional artworks from India and Morocco scattered throughout the grounds. This blend of art and nature creates unexpected moments as you walk through the different areas.
The garden is easy to reach on foot and has marked paths leading through all areas. The best time to visit is during warm months when all plants are in full growth.
Tropical tree ferns grow right next to Mediterranean pomegranate trees, showing how skillfully different climate zones are created here. This unusual pairing demonstrates how the garden manages to maintain very different plant environments side by side.
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