Yesterday I went on a guided visit of the Oman Botanic Garden organized by the Women’s Guild of Oman.
The Oman Botanic Gardens are still under construction and they are not open to the public yet; so I felt privileged to be able to go on this visit.
This is a huge project started in 2006 and expected to run for another few years and which will see the creation of the three main habitats of Oman (Northern, Central and South); a first of this kind.
http://www.oman-botanic-garden.org/project.html
The project is humongous. The majority of the plants that will be represented in the gardens have never been grown before, so the horticulturalists and students on the project have to scour for them around the country, collect and bank their seeds, plant and grow them and record all the findings and information as they learn about new species and how they grow .
The first habitat that has been created on the site is the northern gravel one. This is the natural habitat typical of the area where the site is located, so logically the first and “easier” one. More than 2000 plants have been planted while a number of plants are still being researched and grown in the various nurseries.
The site stands over 420 ha of ground. As the "plant experts" collect the specimens and experiment in the nurseries, engineers and workers are building the receptive structures, a cultural village (meant to serve as a link between cultural traditions and the surrounding environment) and landscaping and preparing the grounds for more plants to come and for the hosting of what will probably be an impressive bio-dome that will reproduce the unique habitat of Dhofar in the South of Oman.
I was surprised to learn that this southern region of the country is also home to the majestic Baobabs (for some reason I thought they were found only in Africa; although now only a few remain there and they are critically endangered) and my first encounter with the Desert Rose was love at first sight: I love the fat and sinuous body of this plant. It looks like a sculpture.
I think that when it's finished The Oman Botanic Gardens will be an amazing place to visit. People will be brought closer to nature and will have a chance to learn and get a deeper understanding of the beauty of nature and the need to preserve it.
It’s great to see that a wealthy country such as Oman is spending its resources in such worthwhile projects and for the benefit of its people.
Photos will follow as soon as I get some time to sort them out.
