A Garden Tour of Sweden’s Rosendal Palace

Rosendal Palace, located on the island of Djurgården in central Stockholm, was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century by King Karl XIV Johan to serve as a retreat from life at the Royal Palace. In 1861, the Swedish Horticultural Society received permission from the crown to move onto the grounds, and it set up greenhouses and began offering classes in horticulture and distributing seedlings and cuttings (similar to programs at the Royal Horticultural Society in England).

Over the years Rosendal became a popular place to picnic and stroll, and today its gardens, nurseries, bakery, and cafés are a central part of life in the city—one that offers a unique snapshot of Sweden’s past and present.

While Rosendal is certainly no Versailles, I was struck at how beautifully the straightforward layout of greenhouses and plantings places the emphasis on individual plant types, as opposed to groupings or works of landscape design. Strolling by rows of different species is a reminder of how, in the age of discovery, horticulture was much more than a science; it influenced all aspects of daily life, especially art and design.

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Click here to join me on a visit to Sweden’s garden of earthly delights.