Geografisk Have: Around the world in one garden

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Geografisk Have

In Kolding, visitors can travel from Japan to North America without leaving southern Denmark. Geografisk Have is a 14-hectare botanical garden where thousands of trees, shrubs and flowers are arranged according to their geographical origin. With prize-winning roses, rhododendrons, camellias, playgrounds and animals, it is both a living plant collection and an unusually family-friendly green escape.

The roots of Geografisk Have go back more than a century, to Danish plant pioneer Aksel Olsen. Fascinated by the many unfamiliar plant species being discovered in East Asia, he began testing whether plants from distant regions could survive the changing Scandinavian climate. His main ambition was to give Danes access to a wider variety of plants for their gardens, helping plant interest and gardening joy take root and grow.

Inspired by other gardens, he arranged the plants geographically, allowing visitors to move through the world by following the garden’s winding paths. One moment, visitors can wander through the calm of the Japanese garden; the next, they are standing among tall conifers in the North American area or exploring plants from China, Korea and South America. “What is so fantastic about the collection is that no two days are the same,” says director Lene Holm. “There are always new plants in bloom, new colours in the trees, or something happening in the animal enclosure.”

Geografisk Have: Around the world in one garden

Although Geografisk Have is a serious botanical garden, it is not only for plant specialists. Around a quarter of its visitors are children, and the park includes playgrounds, a popular animal enclosure with goats and Kolding Miniby, a miniature version of the town as it looked in the 1860s.

The feature attracting the most attention, however, is the rose garden, which draws visitors throughout July and well into August. “It is an absolute pearl in the garden,” says Holm. “People come for the colours and the scent, but also to sit down with a coffee and simply enjoy it.” Earlier in the year, the camellia collection brings spring into the greenhouse in February and March, while the many rhododendrons extend the flowering season from late winter into summer.

Despite its advanced age, the garden continues to develop and renew. In 2027, a new sustainable main building, Den Grønne Portal, is set to open, providing better facilities for visitors year-round. For Holm, the aim is simple: to make it easier for more people to discover a garden that changes with every season.

Geografisk Have: Around the world in one garden