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The path to a glorious green stroll in the countryside is leading nature lovers on the road to Budaiya.
The Budaiya Botanical Park, situated adjacent to the Ministry of Agriculture building, is helping to maintain the island's rich history and reputation of being an oasis in the desert.
The garden was unveiled by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the President of the Supreme Council for Women, in the spring of last year and it opened to the public in October.
The botanical garden began as an experimental farm in the 1940s aimed at importing seeds and plant varieties grown in similar conditions.
The farm was segmented into specialist parts to showcase vegetables, fruits, cacti and succulent plants, herbs, indoor plants, climbers, bulbs and flowers, both perennials and annuals. A large section was also covered with date palms and ornamental trees and shrubs imported from India and other Asian countries.
Mohamed bin Abdulwahab Al Khalifa, Minister's Advisor for Agricultural Science, told GulfWeekly, that a decision was made to change the farm into a scientific botanical and recreational garden and preparatory work began back in February 2009.
The park is now segregated into areas dedicated to palm trees, aromatic plants, wild plants and flowers. It features 300 plants in total, of which more than 250 plants have been imported from India, Thailand as well as other neighbouring countries. They are all arranged according to plant families, scientific names, species, common names and place of origin.
The park also features long walkways where visitors are flocking to enjoy the greenery and the sounds of nature with birds chirping and trees rustling in the breeze. Benches have been placed at various spots in the garden to allow visitors to relax, read a book or simply to enjoy the serenity.
Mr Al Khalifa added: "We are in the process of preparing technical leaflets and brochures about the available plants as well as advice on looking after plants in the garden and how to take care of them."
The park also features two greenhouses - one to grow plants, keep healthy and multiply and a second to provide a general entertainment facility near a lake.
The team caring for the garden knows the kingdom's extreme weather conditions during the summer will continue to be challenging.
Mr Al Khalifa explained: "The main issues we face during the hot conditions in the summer are high evaporation rates, especially in July and August, amounting to 9mm, extreme light intensity, long days of 12 to14 hours, high temperatures of up to 44 degrees centigrade and the lack of rain.
"People dream of seeing Bahrain become like Singapore but if we compare the two countries, for instance, Singapore receives 3,000mm of rain annually while ours is 40-80mm. Their maximum temperature is within the 30s but ours is within the 40s, their soil and ph is less than seven or close to it while ours is mostly more than seven causing difficulty in the availability of some elements.
"However, we are confident that we will overcome these issues with new technology in the coming years.
"We hope the public will visit the garden during their free time and take the opportunity to get to know the names of the variety of trees and plants that can grow in the kingdom. We also will advise young people to keep away from flowering plants and to take care of the small ones they come across. This will also help them with plant recognition.
"Our plan is to maintain this botanical garden as one of the most interesting gardens in the region.
"We also hope to dedicate an area to give other countries an opportunity to be part of the project by planting their native trees which would prosper in this environment."
Some of the treasures already on show include the Trumpet Tree, Blue Jacaranda, Heartleaf Iceplant, Indian Almond, Jungle Flame and the Queen of the Night.
There are many botanical gardens in the world, among the best known are the UK's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the New York Botanical Garden in the US and the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France.
The Budaiya park is open daily from 7am to 7pm and entry costs just 300 fils.
