The Philodassiki Botanical  Garden today

The garden originally established in 1964, on land near the Monastery of Kessariani, was the home of over 200 different species of plants from Southern and Central Greece, the Aegean islands and Crete. Later, we undertook to open the garden to special interest groups and due to the tireless efforts of the preceding custodians who had designed the paths, retaining walls and planting areas, we were able to re-establish the garden as a botanical entity. Our effort has been to keep the unique natural wildness of the locates consistent with the presentation of the botanical collections. With the collaboration of botanists specialized in Plant Systematics, the labeling and tagging of existent plants has been mostly achieved. At the same time a number of new plants have been found and are waiting for the suitable season to be introduced to the garden. The garden displays many elements of the Mediterranean ecosystems. It has in the same place a rich collection of bulbs, many shrubs (“maquis”), brush bushes (“phrygana”) and certain conifers. In what appears to be barren land grow a great number and variety of flora which include perennials, annuals and bulbs. There are other sites, with deeper and more humid soil, such as the ones, in proximity to a small stream which crosses the garden. There also exist some aquatic plants in the three small ponds.