1. Royal Garden
This area features various themed gardens and public facilities, including:
The Garden of the Great King (Uttayan Maharaj): The garden is surrounded by three pools with large fountains. Both sides of the pool are lined with the golden shower trees (Cassia fistula L.) and ornamental flowers.
Rajamangkala Hall (The Royal Pavilion): The building drew its inspiration from the applied Thai Architecture in the Rama IX reign with the nonagon shape (9-sided) topped with 63-m diameter and 53-m tall. The hall’s exterior contains nine rooms that exhibit artifacts from various aspects concerning His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej’s life and information about the Royal initiated projects. The interior of the hall holds an auditorium for meetings and performances with 500 seating capacity.
The International Gardens situated near the Royal Pavilion, the International Garden features arrangement from different regions of the world. Chinese and Japanese Gardens represent gardening styles from the Eastern World; while Spanish, English, French and Italian Gardens highlight various components of Western horticultural styles. Likewise, the Government of the United States of America also built a Geodesic Dome for xeric plants as a part of the International Gardens.
Rommani Garden: The place is decorated with small forests and waterfalls, this 20-acre (50 rais) garden brings a model of natural habitats within the country to represent at the middle of Bangkok.
Her Majesty’s Garden features a variety of decorative flowers and a commemorative sculpture that depicts Her Majesty’s activities from all over country on both sides.
Put-Chan Pavilion surrounded by a garden of aromatic plants which is built entirely from Teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) in Northern Thai Architecture.
Bangkok Metropolitans Rama IX Office is made for staffs who maintain the Garden and the various activities in the onsite facilities.
Thakon Phrakiat Building is a multipurpose meeting room with the capacity of about 100, mostly used for conferences and receptions.
2. Activities Zone
This consists of:
The swamp area of 16 acres (40 rais). Following royal advice from His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the swamp was created to resemble a natural ‘Phru’ or peat swamp habitat and is a home to many aquatic animals and plants.
Sanamraj and Sports Center cover an area of 28 acres (70 rais). Sanamraj is a large open area featuring the Sangkhit Pavilion (Musical Pavilion) with a prominent lawn in the front for outdoor performances and other activities. The lawn is also used as a marketplace for ornamental plants during the Flower Festival which is held annually in early December.
The Sports Center is equipped with a swimming pool, tennis court and other indoor sports facilities for the public.
Bungle Pavilion is built in the Renaissance style and emphasizes the use of symmetry, proportion and geometric shapes. The Pavilion is an outstanding example of Classic Architecture.
The Tropical Fruit Orchard showcases one of the most important exports of Thailand with over 50 species and cultivars of tropical fruits. Here, the public can learn about Thai fruit crops.
Banana Garden displays native plants of Southeast Asia which form a large part of Thai culinary culture and are favorite fruits of the local people. Many varieties have beautiful features and are cultivated for horticultural uses. The Garden maintains about 50 varieties of bananas directly outside the Tropical Fruit Orchard.
The Rock Wall Garden consists of a vertical rock wall of boulders, decorated with annual and short-lived flowering plants.
3. Botanical Garden
The 60-acre (70 rais) Botanical Garden zone consisted of a massive collection of plant species, organized according to their taxonomic rank and ecological features. The plants are labeled with their scientific names and family for research, conservation and educational purposes. The Garden maintains about 200 family, 3300 species of plants. This area consists of:
Botanical Building (Herbarium) deposites preserved plant specimens and associated information used for scientific study. The specimens are on herbarium sheets or preserved in various forms for display. The herbarium, housing a botanical library, is opened for academic study and botanical research. The building also serves as an office for botanists and associated staff.
Mahaisawan Mai Dat Thai Garden is located in front of the Botanical Building. This highlights one of the Thai horticultural arts, called Mai Dat (Dwarfing), which dates back to the late Ayuthaya Period (18th Century). This technique manipulates the elegant branching patterns and stature of the plants to give a certain look. Common plants for this technique include species of Diospyros, Streblus, Tamarindus and Wrightia spp.
The Maze Garden is made of walls of Streblus plants (Streblus asper Lour.) that form a green labyrinth that challenges visitors to find their way out in the shortest time.
Fern and Orchid Houses: The Fern House collects over 100 species of native and exotic ornamental ferns, including some rare species, while the Orchid House maintains about 300 taxa of native and hybrids species. The notable ones include some orchid genera i.e. Dendrobium, Rhynchostylis, Bulbophyllum and Grammatophyllum spp.
Medicinal Plants Garden was built in Honour of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on Her Fifth Cycle Birthday, April 2, 2015. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn officially opened the Medicinal Plants Garden on May 20, 2015. It covers the area of 2.3 acres (6 rais), the Medicinal Plants Garden houses over 400 species from 275 genera and 92 families, and arranged by their uses, such as medicinal properties and antidotes.
Family Poaceae (Grass Garden) Grasses are undoubtedly an integral part of daily life for mankind. The Grass Garden includes over 40 species of economically important grasses such as food crop (rice, corns, sorghum, and sugarcane), medicinal and fiber grasses, and erosion controlling crop (Citronella Grass, Job's tears and vetiver grass).
Lotus and Water Lily Garden is a home to over 200 varieties of water lilies and lotuses from the families Nymphaeaceae and Nelumbonaceae. Exotic varieties have become increasingly popular in Thailand, and the International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society has generously provided these plants for the Garden to maintain and display its beautyfulness for public.
The Geodesic Dome is a half globe-shape, maintained solely by the symmetric triangular framework. The Government of the United States of America built the Geodesic Dome as a part of the International Gardens. This dome (Xeric Plants House) displays over 300 species from 25 families of succulents, cacti and the drought-resistant plants.
Indoor Plant House is a large greenhouse with light filtering slants and a water-spraying system that keeps regulate the moisture. This Indoor Plant House displays over 500 species from 40 families of high moisture and shady plants, as well as some rare plants of Thailand.
Royal Thai Pavilion is a smaller replica of Aisawan Tippaya-at Pavilion which stands in the middle of a pond in Bang pa-in Summer Palace in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. The building is surrounded by fragrant royal purple lotuses (Sutthasinobol - Nymphaea capensis Thunb. var. zanzibariensis Casp.) and other 50 species of aquatic plants around the edge of the pond.
Chai Chol Building is the home of Suan Luang Rama IX Royal Garden Foundation, also serves a restaurant. The building locates at the edge of the Reservoir.
Magnolia Corner is a collection of the magnolias from the Magnolia family (Magnoliaceae)
Trapangkaew (The artificial Reservoir): As an initiative of His Majesty King Bhumibol Aduyadej, the 16-acre (40 rais) artificial Reservoir was originally built to minimize the impact of flooding in Bangkok’s eastern suburbs. It is now also used for recreational activities and water sports.
Choeng Pha Garden mimics the limestone mountain ecosystems, where drought-tolerant plants are thriving with little water and nutrient on thin soils and rocky substrates. Most of these plants are annual, shrubs and small trees, such as Dracaena and Cycas spp.
Provincial Trees: The Garden collects all of the “Provincial Trees” which are the trees that Her Majesty Queen Sirikit offered to the governor of each province in Thailand to plant as a symbol for the province on the occasion of the 50th year of reign under His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1994.
Nursery is an operational greenhouse equipped with water and ventilation system to take care of young seedlings and saplings of ornamental plants and trees for the Garden. The nursery is divided into two parts: one is nursery for the ornamental and the other is for the foliage plants.
Suan Luang Rama IX Royal Botanic Garden is a home to more than 3,000 species of native and exotic plants ranging from trees, shrubs, herbs, flowering and foliage plants. It is one of a few places in Bangkok that visitors can come and fully enjoy the beauty and diversity of plants, while become more aware of the value of natural resources and conservation.
The Garden is opened for public from 05.00 am -7.00 pm daily. A small entrance fee is collected between 9.00 am– 5.00 pm. For group visit or a guided tour, for more information please contact office of the Suan Luang Rama IX Foundation at Chai Chol Building.
Address: The Suan Luang Rama IX Foundation, Chai Chol Building. Chaloem Phra Kiat Ratchakan Thi 9 Road. Nong Bon Subdistrict, Prawet District, Bangkok 10250.
Tel (02) 3281385-86
Fax (02) 3281387