Orman Garden

{{Short description|Botanical garden in Egypt}}

{{Infobox park

| name = Orman Garden

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| photo = File:Orman garden - Cairo By Hatem Moushir 11.JPG

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| photo_caption = A path in the garden

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| location = Giza Governorate, Cairo, Egypt

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| coords = {{coord|30|01|45|N|31|12|47|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| area = 20 acre

| created = 1875

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| open = Yes

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The Orman Garden at Giza, Cairo is one of the most famous Botanical gardens in Egypt. It was founded in 1875 during the reign of Khedive Isma'il Pasha. He established the garden on a larger site than it presently occupies as part of the Palace of the Khedive. A great lover of gardens, the Khedive entrusted the design of the garden to the French landscaper Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps. It became a public botanical garden in 1910/1917 and put under the Ministry of Agriculture management.[http://www.bgci.org/garden.php?id=606 Orman Botanic Garden] Botanic Gardens Conservation International

The garden covers about 28 acres. Today, the garden contains a rock garden, a rose garden, cactus gardens, and probably the most notable feature, the lotus pond.

Orman Garden is west of the River Nile and east of Cairo University in the Giza Governorate. "Orman" is a Turkish word, which means "the forest".{{cite web | title = Environment - Orman Garden | publisher = Egypt State Information Service | url = http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Pub/magazin/summer2006/110231000000000016.htm | accessdate = 2008-05-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125225957/http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Pub/magazin/summer2006/110231000000000016.htm |archive-date=25 November 2007}}

A small botanical museum attached to the garden shelters herbaria dating from the Ismail khedive and furniture from the king Farouk.

Spring festival

Since 1920, the Orman Garden has hosted an annual spring floral exhibition. The Spring Festival usually starts in March every year and is an important Egyptian cultural event in spring. In 2021, it started on March 13. Officials from the ministry of agriculture open the exhibition. The spring fair usually lasts a month. During that time, many companies exhibit their various plant offerings including ornamental plants, cut flowers, cactus, seeds for growing many plants, fertilizers, gardening tools, and pots. In addition, local goods like woven baskets, Aswanian honey, essential oils, souvenirs, and jewelry can also be found at the exhibition. Prices for plants start from as low as 5 LE and rare varieties can reach thousands. Huge plant producers like Egypt Green (Safwat Habib) and sellers of clay pots from the Fustat Souq in Old Cairo participate in the exhibition.

Special collections

File:Cactus grafting 1 Hatem moushir.JPG.]]

Conifers, palms, cacti, succulents, roses, bamboo, ficus, aquatic plants, strelitzia

Orman Garden has a seed bank and publishes it own Index Seminum.

Gallery

{{gallery

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|Example of Plant Offerings at Orman.jpg|

|Cactus Offerings at Orman.jpg |Cacti & Succulents at Orman

|Succulents at Orman.jpg |Rosette Succulents at Orman

|Peace Lily at Orman.jpg| Peace Lily

|Coleus Plants at Orman garden.jpg| Coleus Plants

|Fiddle leaf fig at Orman Garden.jpg| Fiddle leaf fig

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References