Location and area
The Ornamental Section is located at the main entrance to the Botanical Garden, in the area of the administrative building and of the Greenhouse Complex. The section has 4 ha of outdoor terrain and 400 m² of greenhouse, as well as a solarium of 72.60 m², intended for plant collections that require protected spaces for cultivation, but also for the ground culture of some plant species used as cut flowers throughout the year.
This section represents a subunit of the Botanical Garden that welcomes the general public through the diversity, density and manner of exhibit the plant species with ornamental value. It is presented as a permanent exhibition, thus fulfilling mainly the recreational-cultural role, as a fundamental element that was the basis for the founding of the Botanical Garden.
Description
Grouped in collections, the Tulipa, Narcissus,
Crocus, Hyacinthus, Muscari genera, are presented in the transitional spaces of the section, offering a very varied color range and passing through the entire spectrum, become a true exhibition of color. In the last 10 years, these genera have acquired great importance due to the diversity of varieties introduced into culture in the spaces intended for the ornamental section.
The central parterre of the Botanical Garden is landscaped with boxwood hedges (Buxus sempervirens), rose borders and arabesques made of Buxus and Taxus baccata (yew); this area continues in the same landscape architecture style towards the Biological Section.
In front of the administrative building there is the "Dr. Anastasie Fatu" square, in the middle of which was placed the bust of the first director of the Botanical Garden of Iasi, created by the emeritus artist Eftimie Birleanu. Throughout the year, this space is decorated with species and varieties of annual plants, ornamental by their flowers, leaves or habitus, depending on the seasonal floristic offer.
In the Ornamental section, decorative trees and shrubs are highlighted by their habitus and foliage, this section of the Botanical Garden presenting different decorative varieties of taxa as: the American maple (Acer negundo 'Variegatum'), the Norway maple (Acer platanoides 'Globossum'), the sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus 'Purpureum'), the cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardi'), the Scots elm (Ulmus glabra 'Pendula'), the black mulberry (Morus nigra 'Pendula'), the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina 'Dissecta'), the Japanese acacia (Styphnolobium japonicum 'Pendula'), the Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica).
Along the alley that separates the Ornamental Section from the Phytogeographical Section, species of gladioli and peonies are cultivated. The peonies are among the most popular plants that stand out in May. Rustic plants, they attract attention by the shape of the bushes, which can be shrubby in the species: Paeonia delavayi, respectively Paeonia x suffruticosa, by the leaves and flowers in the species P. tenuifolia, or by the remarkable flowers of the numerous horticultural varieties of the species P. officinalis.
The summer season brings together impressive collections of dahlias (Dahlia sp.), gladioli (Gladiolus sp.), autumn lilies (Hosta sp.), wild lilies or day lilies (Hemerocallis sp.). Originating from Mexico, dahlias are appreciated for their abundant flowering throughout the summer until late autumn. The flowers are grouped in simple inflorescences or with multiple layers of petals, and have very varied colors and shapes. The varieties currently cultivated in the Botanical Garden come from the species Dahlia variabilis, D. coccinea, D. merkii and are grouped according to the shape of the ligules and of inflorescences.
A way in which the Botanical Garden of Iasi brings to the forefront the two important functions - cultural and recreational - is represented by the topiary forms, and the Botanical Garden has experience in practicing topiary art, an aspect demonstrated by the forms and parterres existing within the Ornamental Section.
In late autumn, on the main alley, in front of the administrative section and in the Exhibition Greenhouse Complex, on the occasion of the organization of annual exhibitions are presented numerous varieties of chrysanthemums cultivated in the shape of a waterfall, pyramid, tree, bush, forms exhibited for the first time in Romania, at the Botanical Garden in Iasi.
The species and horticultural varieties of the genus Chrysanthemum are represented at the Botanical Garden of Iasi by a number of over 400 taxa, grouped in a unique collection in Romania in terms of size, scientific value and presentation. It is accessible to both the general public and specialists. The collection of chrysanthemums for cut flowers (Chrysanthemum x grandiflorum) of the Botanical Garden of Iasi groups over 206 varieties, including some of the first cultivars introduced in Romania. Among the varieties maintained in the collection, 32 varieties were selected and obtained within the Botanical Garden of Iasi: e.g. 'Andra', 'Asfintit', 'Carmen', 'Domnita Noptii', 'Gloria', 'Mary', 'Zarea'. In recent years, a special attention has been paid to the collection of Chrysanthemum indicum, which includes 200 varieties, 27 of which were obtained through selection work and the sustained efforts of researchers and biologists from this institution. In addition to the Romanian varieties, the collection of chrysanthemums also contains other varieties with special decorative value, as the main source for arranging the outdoor spaces of the Ornamental Section and for presenting them in unique forms within the thematic autumn exhibitions.
The Botanic Garden of Iasi founded, in 1991, within the Ornamental section, a subsection for the sightless persons in order to offer the possibility to visually impaired people to discover different plant species by smell and touch. This subsection was reorganized and expanded in 2008, with the establishment of an alley for visually impaired people.
The collections of this subsection mainly group together medicinal, aromatic, seasoning or ornamental plants with strong fragrance, which can be recognized by the visually impaired people due to their special perfume and the sensations they create when touched. All plant species exhibited in this subsection are grown in individual pots and placed on a wooden base, at a height accessible to all visitors, and are accompanied by special labels that provide information regarding the family to which the exhibited species belongs, its scientific and vernacular name, general use and geographical origin, information presented in the Latin alphabet and in Braille writing system.
The exhibited plants are selected based on a series of characteristics as: the presence of rough or very fine hairs on their vegetative organs, the size of the plant (tall or dwarf specimens, solitary or forming small bushes), or the presence of secretory hairs involved in the secretion of volatile compounds. Thus, people with visual disabilities can enjoy the special perfume of some species from the collection of medicinal plants, which have various uses, both in herbal medicine and as seasoning and aromatic plants: the great basil (Ocimum basilicum), the garden mint (Mentha viridis), the lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), the golden marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria), the common wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), the hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), the sage (Salvia officinalis), the betony (Stachys officinalis), the rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), the garden thyme (Satureja hortensis), the oregano (Origanum vulgaris), the catnip (Nepeta mussinii), the echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), the marigold (Calendula officinalis), and monk's cress (Tropaeolum majus).
The exhibited plant species vary depending on the season and they best capture the characteristics of the respective season. Thus, in spring and summer are displayed annual species with a distinctive scent, that are part of the ornamental and medicinal plant collections of the subsection: the French marigold (Tagetes patula), the lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), the geranium (Pelargonium zonale), the sage (Salvia lavandulifolia), the common yarrow (Achillea millefolium), the cotton lavender (Santolina chamaecyparissus), the Mexican giant hyssop (Agastache mxicana), A. foeniculum, Monarda citriodora, Iberis odorata, Cerastium tomentosum.
