Aptekarsky Ogorod, a cozy garden of health and happiness in Moscow

If while being in Moscow you would like to take a pause from the city hustle and recharge the batteries, you can always relax in one of 200 Moscow parks and gardens. Aptekarsky Ogorod is one of the best – a cozy garden of health and happiness in the centre of the city. Here, you can take fresh air, contemplate near the Zerkalnyi Kanal (Mirror-like Channel), enjoy the harmony of nature, listen to the live music in a company of flowers and pond turtles.

Photo © Credits to VD

Photo © Credits to Lidia Shironina

Winter never comes here

The interior of this small garden constantly changes. Every two-three weeks, a new exhibition of season flowers starts in Aptekarsky Ogorod. In spring, early bloomers wake up with the first rays of the sun, followed by tender tulips and daffodils. Peonies and lilies in their bright ball-dresses invite you to a summer dance. Magnificent hydrangeas and asters welcome the arriving Queen Autumn, and then… Don’t worry, winter never comes here. Tropical Winter Festival invites you to the greenhouse with its tropical climate, exotic plants, emotional Russian romances, where you will never feel cold.

Photo © Credits to Moscow 24

Open-air concerts: no Black-Tie dress code

In the evenings, the garden transforms into an open-air concert hall. It is not a Black-Tie event, so comfortably seated on the lawn, you can listen to musical stars from Russia and other world, who present the whole spectrum of music styles – folk music or classics, jazz or chanson. You can buy tickets online on the website of the garden.

Photo © Credits to allinmos

Photo © Credits to Aptekarsky Ogorod

The Sensory garden: touch, smell, and taste

The Sensory garden is created with a help of the Deaf-blind Support Foundation and aimed for the blind and visually impaired people, however it attracts all the visitors. The plants of this garden, that are growing in special containers, affect all five senses. They are grown especially for the people to touch them and smell their fragrance. You can even pick up the leaves and taste them. All plants here are eatable and organic. In this collection, there is basil, salvia, rosemary, lavender, mint, marjoram, thyme, celery, and many others.

Photo © Credits to MosDay

Make a souvenir and take with you

Aptekarsky Ogorod offers its visitors different activities. You can choose between a guided tour, quest ‘Hunting the Orchids’, one of the regular art exhibitions, or degustation of herbal drinks. To relax, you can watch the golden fish, participate in a charity dog walk, play with cats in the cat café, or even meet His Flower Majesty - the chief cat of the garden, who has the right to visit all the exhibitions and eat in the cafés at no charge. In the workshop, you can make a greeting card with dried flowers, or raisin jewelry, or sgraffito plate and take with you as a souvenir.

Photo © Credits to Aptekarsky Ogorod

A healing effect of beauty and fragrance

Aptekarsky Ogorod is the oldest botanical garden of the Moscow University. It was founded in 1706 by the Russian emperor Peter I as a physic garden and served the medical purposes: the chemists grew the medicinal herbs there and prepared herbal drugs to cure the patients. Nowadays, this cozy garden of health and happiness in the centre of Moscow is a real plant kingdom, and its beauty and fragrance still have the healing effect.

Photo © Credits to VD

Photo © Credits to Aptekarsky Ogorod