Anandbag Botanical Garden

Darbhanga, Bihar, India

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 “Anandbag Botanical Garden” in Darbhanga, Bihar: the prominent historical garden associated with this name was actually the magnificent Anand Bagh Garden surrounding the Anand Bagh Palace (also called Lakshmi Vilas Palace) in Kathalbari, Darbhanga, which was planned and laid by German botanist Charles Maries for the erstwhile Maharaja of Darbhanga.

This royal garden, established in the 1880s during Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh’s reign, was renowned for its hundreds of trees and thousands of flowers, including 20 varieties of sandalwood trees, Rudraksha trees, virmillion trees, branched palms with over 8 branches, and exotic plants like Mahogany.

The garden also featured exclusive mango varieties developed by Maries, such as Durga Bhog, Lakshmeshwar Bhog, Shah Pasand, and Sundar Prasad, which had longer shelf life than traditional varieties. However, the beautiful gardens surrounding Anand Bagh Palace have largely disappeared over time, though some trees like Virmillion and Rudraksha survive in nearby Kalyani Niwas garden.