Bergen Botanical Garden

Alpine plants from different parts of the world grow in the Rock Garden. The garden is designed to show different types of bedrock and different growth forms. The waterfall running through the Rock Garden is an atmospheric feature. As early as March and April, you can see the first alpine plants flower. As spring goes on, an intense and beautiful flowering follows that makes the area a colourful experience.

The Japanese Garden is a Norwegian-Japanese friendship garden that includes, in addition to Japanese plants, elements from Japanese garden tradition, such as bridges, lanterns, a gravel garden, a moss garden and a tea pavilion. Many Japanese plants thrive well in the Norwegian climate.

In our Vegetable Garden, we show off our enthusiasm for food! Here you can find both modern and historical plants, some Norwegian and some from other continents. Some displays are permanent, such as the Viking Garden and the Angelica Garden, while others change.

Around 30 per cent of the food we eat depends on pollination by insects. Bumblebees, bees and other pollinating insects therefore play a very important role in nature and in our food production.

In the Bee Garden, you can learn more about which plants provide food for insects throughout the season, and which flowers are especially attractive to bees, bumblebees and butterflies. By choosing insect-friendly plants, you can help strengthen biodiversity in your own garden.

Insects need not only food, but also places to live. Dead and rotting wood, stone piles and insect hotels provide important shelters and habitats for many species. With simple measures, you can make your garden a valuable home for our small helpers.

An insect-friendly garden is a win for both nature and us humans.

The contrast between threatened species (those we risk losing) and invasive species (those that spread aggressively) is stark, and here we reflect on the issues linked to this.

Threatened species are typically characterized by a sharp decline in numbers, or by being few in number. Reduced and fragmented habitats often add to the increased risk of extinction. Usually, it is a combination of several factors that causes a species to become threatened. The Norwegian Red List for species is an overview of species at risk of dying out in Norway, i.e. those that are threatened. The Red List is prepared by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre in cooperation with subject experts.  

Invasive species, or harmful alien species, are species that have spread beyond their natural range and dispersal potential with human help. Some have been deliberately introduced, others have escaped or gone wild, and others still are stowaways that have snuck along without our knowledge. Harmful alien species are considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. The Norwegian Alien Species List shows the ecological risk alien species can pose to biodiversity in Norway. Some species are prohibited from being imported, released or traded in Norway.

Fægri's Water Vision is a jetty that makes the idyllic setting by Lake Milde easily accessible. This was the wonderful idea of the late professor of botany Knut Fægri, brought to life by his wife Mrs Nancy Fægri, and opened in 2005. From the jetty, you can enjoy the fantastic view and the atmosphere of the lake.

The manor house looks as though it has always stood here, but it actually comes from Lønningen near Flesland. Through careful dismantling and restoration, the manor house was moved to its current location. The building was completed in 2018, and you can read more about this process and the building itself on the Estates Department's pages about the manor house (see box below).

Lønningen Manor House has a long and varied history. The Lønningen farm itself has probably existed since the Viking Age, and in the Middle Ages was owned by Munkeliv Abbey, which retained the farm until 1660. In 1732, Lønningen was bought by the merchant Henrik Hansson Formann.

It was his son, Rasmus Lindgård Formann, who had the pleasure house completed around 1780. The main building consists of a one-and-a-half-storey timber structure with late Rococo features.

Since the late 18th century, Lønningen has served as both a manor house, a permanent home and an orphanage. The farm was bought by the Civil Aviation Administration in 1977, and in connection with the expansion of Bergen Airport, Flesland, it was decided in 2013 that Lønningen Manor House should be transferred to the University of Bergen and moved to its current location at the Botanical Garden. 

The farm is today owned by the University of Bergen. The house is used for staff events, and during the restoration work, an auditorium was also built in the manor's basement, used as a teaching venue for botany students at UiB. 

Archimedes' Labyrinth is located in the garden of Lønningen Manor in the Botanical Garden at Milde. 1,330 yew plants have been planted in pyramid formations outside the manor house. There is plenty of opportunity for exploration here, for young and old alike.

The labyrinth was built for the opening of the Botanical Garden in 2018, when the work on Lønningen Manor was complete and the building ready for use for teaching, events and activities in the Botanical Garden at Milde.

The Botanical Garden created the labyrinth in collaboration with professor of mathematics Hans Munthe-Kaas, who designed the labyrinth according to all the rules of mathematics.

Can you find your way out again?

Vågelva is a small sea trout stream that runs from Lake Milde, through the Japanese Garden and along the car park in the Botanical Garden, out into Mildevågen. Vågelva has undergone extensive clean-up work in recent years. The project is an exciting collaboration between the environmental organisation Bergen Elveforum, Bergen Botanical Garden, the Friends of the Arboretum, UiB, NORCE and landowners along Vågelva. The technical work is led by Terje Aarsand (Bergen Elveforum), and enquiries can be directed to Terje Aarsand by phone on 920 97 250. The project received financial support from the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Friends of the Arboretum, the UiB Climate Fund and the museum gardens.