About Us

The Oles Honchar Botanical Garden of Dnipro National University 

The Botanical Garden of DNU was founded in 1930 by the Head of the Department of Plant Physiology of Dnipropetrovsk University, Professor Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Reinhard, who became its first director. Initially, it was a special city scientific and research institution. In 1933, the Botanical Garden was incorporated into Dnipropetrovsk State University as a scientific and research unit by the decree of the Council of the People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR. 

In 1963, by the Order of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Botanical Garden was declared a protected territory of national importance. Since then, it has been under the protection of the state.

The total area of the Garden is 27.5 hectares. 10.5 hectares are a free access zone, and 17 hectares are used as a research and exposition zone with restricted access. 

The main activities of the Garden are the following: the preservation of the plant gene pool in collections of living plants, the study and acclimatisation of plants, research on the effective economic use of rare and typical species of local and world flora, and other scientific and educational work. 

The Botanical Garden of DNU cooperates with many botanical institutions in Ukraine both near and far concerning the preservation of plant diversity and exchange of planting material. It is a member of the Council of Botanical Gardens and Arboretums of Ukraine and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). 

The collection fund of Botanical Garden plants is an invaluable national treasure. It has more than 3,500 species, varieties, and forms.

The basis of the collections are tree and shrub plants of the dendrology department, of which more than 11,000 plants are growing on the garden territory. Relic plants, beautifully flowering shrubs, exotic trees, roses – all these  you can see while walking through the arboretum.

The natural flora department stores funds of aboriginal and  introduced economic, energy, and low-growing ornamental and medicinal plants, among which many species are included in the international and regional Red Lists. You can learn more about collections from this department in relevant expositions: Rocky Garden, Aromateka, Grains, among others. 

Varieties of flower-decorative perennial, annual and bulbous plants are the basis of collections of the department of floriculture. At the appropriate time, in the exhibition and collection areas of the department, you can admire the flowering of spring ephemeroids (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths), hybrid iris, hemerocallis, peonies, and chrysanthemums.

The collections of tropical and subtropical plants department have representatives of the heat-loving flora of Africa, South Asia, America, and Australia. You can see high palm trees and ficus, vigorous vines, majestic ferns and other exciting plants if you sign up for an excursion to the exposition greenhouse. 

The Botanical Garden sells plants of its own production to the public. Indoor plants, seedlings of annuals, and outdoor spicy-aromatic and medicinal plants can be purchased in the production greenhouse. In addition, tree and shrub plants, flower and decorative perennials, and fruit and berry crops are sold at the greenhouse site.