Botanical Garden - University of Maribor
The Botanical Garden is a natural gem in Pivola near Hoče. It stretches between Hoče and Razvanje, south of the city of Maribor. With eight hectares of planted area, it is the largest in Slovenia. The garden offers and enables: education, research, preservation of plant species, maintenance of locally endangered plant species, naturally occurring economically important forest species, gene bank functions, and promotion of sustainable tourism.
In the area of the former castle park, a few kilometers south of Maribor, numerous native and foreign species of trees, shrubs and flowers thrive, which you can also learn about on a guided tour. You are invited to the pleasant natural environment from early spring to late autumn.
In the botanical garden, you will be drawn in as early as April, when the collection of over a hundred species of daffodils blooms, in May, when the rhododendrons are in bloom, and in June, when the variety of colors is at its peak. In the summer, the garden invites you to the pleasant shade of mighty trees and to admire the blooming roses, while in the autumn, you can see various fruits and all shades of autumn colors.
In the botanical garden, the staff of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences takes care of numerous species of endangered plants in nature and cultivates high-quality old varieties of apples and pears. In addition to the native vegetation of Pohorje and northeastern Slovenia, the garden also grows trees, shrubs, perennials, and numerous medicinal and aquatic plants from Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia.
In the plantation of domestic and exotic trees, among others, grow more than 120-year-old sequoias, junipers with a circumference of 364 cm, Caucasian firs, Canadian hemlocks, Lawson cypresses, red-leaved beeches, larches, magnolias, and yews.
In the botanical garden, occasional and permanent exhibitions are also available to you during a relaxing walk, such as hunting, geological, and archaeological exhibitions. The garden can be presented to you on a guided tour by prior arrangement, and larger groups can also visit the garden in winter by prior agreement, when it is otherwise closed to visitors. During or after the tour, take a break at the rest area with benches and tables, where you can sit in the pleasant shade of trees. Sources of good drinking