Island Garden

Island hopping across wetland habitats

Meise Botanic Garden has had an island in the castle pond since the estate was redesigned as an English landscape garden in the 19th century. The new Island Garden lifts this romantic garden style where winding paths and 'getting lost' trump all, to a contemporary level.

Consisting of a group of islands with various orientations and levels, the garden creates a range of new biotopes.  These can be visited via a 400-metre meandering concrete walkway across the water. Behind every bend, you will discover a different world.

All these spots along and in the water are ideal locations for developing and expanding our scientific collection of aquatic and marsh plants. On the islets there is room for new trees that give structure to the whole. 

We already planted many iconic species like lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) and antarctic beech (Nothofagus antarctica). In the coming years, we will plant more trees and shrubs, aquatic and marsh plants - a growing list of more than 400 species. 

In this way, we will create a unique biotope that will also benefit our native fauna and flora.