If France have Giverny garden, Indonesia have Bogor Botanical Garden.
The
Bogor Botanical Gardens (
Indonesian:
Kebun Raya Bogor) is a
botanical garden located in
Bogor,
Indonesia, 60 km south of
Jakarta. The
gardens are in the city center and adjoin the
Istana
Bogor (Presidential Palace). Within the Botanical Gardens surrounding
Istana Bogor (the Bogor Presidential Palace) are a number of graves. There is
also a cenotaph to Olivia Marianne Raffles, first wife of Sir Thomas Stamford
Raffles (Governor of Java from 1811 to 1816).
 |
| President Palace in front of the lovely Lotus pond. |
 |
| Gorgeous giant Lotus. |
 |
| Bench that available in every corner of the garden. |
The area that was now Bogor Botanical Gardens was part of
the
samida (man made forest) that was established at least around the
era when Sri Baduga Maharaja (Prabu Siliwangi, 1474-1513) rules the
Sunda
Kingdom, as written in the
Batutulis inscription.
In 1744, the
Dutch East India Company established a
garden and mansion at the site of the present Botanical Gardens in Buitenzorg
(now known as Bogor).
In 1817, The gardens officially opened as Lands
Plantentuin ('National
Botanical Garden') with 47
hectares of the grounds bordering the palace were established as a Botanic
Garden. Casper Georg Carl Reinwardt, a German who moved to Netherlands,
became the first director from 1817 to 1822, during which time approximately
900 living plants were introduced to the Garden.
Sir Stamford Raffles had been Governor of Java from 1811 to
1816 attempted to lay out the Palace grounds as an English-style landscaped
garden, he also brought in two gardens from Kew in London, UK.
The monument he erected in memory of his wife, Lady Olivia Marianne, who died
in 1814, can be seen in the Garden.
In 1823, The first catalogue of plants in the Garden (914
species) was published by C.L. Blume (Director of the Garden from 1822 to
1826).
In 1830, Johannes Elias Teysmann, a Dutch gardener, became
curator of Bogor Botanic Garden and spent more than 50
years developing the Garden. Seven years later Justus Karl Hasskarl was
appointed his assistant curator and convinced the director to re-arrange the
plantings in the Garden by taxonomic families.
In 1844, Justus Karl
Hasskarl wrote the second catalogue of plants which listed more than 2800
species. Over many years Teysmann brought thousands of plants into Bogor from his travels
throughout the Archipelago. In recognition of all Teysmann's work in the Garden
a memorial pillar of polished granite was placed in Taman Teysmann (Teysmann's
Garden) and four species of teak and verbenas, in the Genus Teijsmaniodendron
were named after him.
 |
| Enjoyed sitting by the side of lovely Lotus pond. |
 |
| Bamboo alley. Beautiful. |
 |
| My fav spot, a hiding garden which I called "Bogor Eden Garden". |
Between 1852 and 1854 the Garden played an important role in
the introduction of quinine to Java, an extract used for treating malaria.
Quinine is produced from the bark of the Cinchona (Rub.) tree,
originally from Peru.
Between 1869 to 1880 R.H.C.C. Scheffer, the third director
of the Garden, used the garden as a tool for scientific research. Stock was
grown in the Garden and seeds and cuttings distributed all over the country of
useful plants such as Australian
Eucalyptus species, tobacco, maize and
Liberian coffee.
 |
| Another giant tree. Gorgeous!! |
 |
| Pinky Banana trees. So sweet. |
In 1880, Dr. Melchior Treub became director of the Garden. The next 30 years
were a decisive period for the Garden and all scientific institutions
associated with it. Trueb realised the need to establish world-wide recognition
for the Bogor Botanic Garden as a scientific
institution and a benefactor of local and European agriculture.
In 1892 the Garden was expanded in size to 60 hectares with the addition of
the island between the two arms of the Ciliwung river.
Princess Astrid of Belgium
visited the Garden with Prince Leopold on their honeymoon in 1928 and an avenue
of Agathis dammara (Arauc.) trees and red and yellow Canna hybrida(Canna.) with black leaves (colours of the Belgian flag) was planted in her
honour in the new part of the Garden. The Victoria Pond at the southern end of
the Astrid Avenue
was made following their visit.
 |
| Giant Lotus party in the pond :) |
 |
| Giant tree. |
 |
| Another lovely perspective. |
The Dutch East-Indies declared was on Japan on 8 December 1941. In March
1942 the Japanese marched into Bogor
and a year later took over directorship of both the Garden and the Herbarium.
Prof. T. Nakai, a Japanese botanist, was appointed director of the Botanic
Garden and Kanehira, another Japanese botanist, head of the Herbarium. These
two men strove to protect the Garden and the Herbarium from Japanese soldiers
who were intent on cutting and using the trees from the Garden for timber
during the invasion. It was under their supervision that the Garden was named
Shokubutsuen (Botanic Garden).
During the Second World War the Garden was closed and at the end of the war
if suffered greatly from neglect, destruction and theft. The giant Rafflesia
flower had been in the Garden up until the war, at which time it disappeared
and since then the gardeners have sadly been unable to introduce it.
The Dutch managed the Garden again from 1945 to 1949 when Indonesia gained full independence, took charge
of the Garden and renamed it
"Kebun Raya" (Great Garden).
Kusnoto Setyodiworjo became the first Indonesian curator, who was eventually to
become head of the Garden in 1959. During the next few years of political
instability the Garden suffered from staff and fund shortages.
 |
| A couple of HUGE trees, you can see how tiny I am when standing in front of them. Gorgeous Trees!! |
In 1962, the Garden became part of the Lembaga Biologi Nasional (LBN)
(National Biological Institute), of which in 1964 Otto Soemarwoto was appointed
Director. He Promoted pure scientific research and developed the Garden as a
tropical biological research institute, which would ultimately bring wide
ranging benefits to agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry and health care.
Under the New Order of President Soeharto (1967) more funds became available
for education and research, and the Garden began to improve.
 |
| Red Banana, one of my favorite tree. |
 |
| A beautiful giant Lizard came out from it hiding place on the Lotus pond. He was starving I guess. |
In 1977 The orchid house was enlarge with the financial support of the
President's wife Ibu Siti Hartinah Soeharto. It was obvious that the orchid
collection in the Garden had only a small percentage of the numbers of wild
species in Indonesia,
so from 1985 collecting trips were made around the Archipelago. The glasshouses
containing the now extensive and valuable collection are open to the public
only by special permission.
The Garden is also a place of recreation for residents and visitors, and
overseas visitors are increasing as the government encourages the development
of tourism with more than 15,000 species of trees and plants.
History sources: http://www.bogor.indo.net.id/kri/bhist.htm
& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogor_Botanical_Gardens
#bogor#indonesia#dutch#netherlands#belgium#london#britain#german#garden#botanical#giverny#japan#soeharto#soekarno#president#palace#pic#picture#photo#photography
#jarnara#blog#history#plants#species#orchid#glasshouse#research#giant#gianttree#tree#trees#gianttrees#nature#forest#war#lotus#pond#java#governor#island#archipelago
#princess#raffles#lady#olivia#blume#australia#coffee#treub#astrid#prince#leopold#botanist#herbarium#belgian#hectares#river#honeymoon#travel#gardener#Hasskarl#Reinwardt
#Nakai#japanese#Teysmann#biology#tourism#land#kew#english#style#plant#verbenas#peru#malaria#african#biological#Shokubutsuen#victoria#pharmaceutical#industry#agriculture
