Botanical Gardens Pinetum Blijdenstein

Hilversum, Netherlands, Netherlands

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Pinetum Blijdenstein is an attractive botanical garden hidden away in a residential villa suburb of Hilversum, in the heart of the Netherlands, at Van der Lindenlaan 125. Founded in 1909 by Twentse banker Benjamin Willem Blijdenstein, who developed a great interest in plants and trees through his many visits to Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London, the garden began as a private collection of conifers and has grown into a world-class collection. The 1.2 to 2-hectare garden specializes in conifers (gymnosperms or seed-producing plants with "naked" seeds) and houses the most complete collection of wild gymnosperms in the Netherlands, including over 300 to 400 different species of conifers, cycads, and ephedras, making it one of the most important conifer collections in the world and part of the Dutch National Plant Collection for scientific research. In addition to its exceptional conifer collection, Pinetum Blijdenstein is home to cycads, ephedras, rhododendrons, ginkgo, gnetum, ferns, and a variety of tropical plants in its greenhouses.