This rhododendron and azalea park of about 8.6 hectares in Helsinki is also a university plant-breeding trial site, which is rare, as trial plots are usually closed. Nearly 3,000 hybrid seedlings were planted in 1975 on the former Laajasuo pine bog, on the initiative of city gardener Pekka Jyränkö. Eight cultivars bred here, among them 'Haaga' and 'Pekka', have reached the market, and their parent shrubs still grow here.
Rhododendrons are at their peak in early June, while azaleas flower earlier and carry on past Midsummer. Step-free boardwalks run through the grounds, and two raised viewing platforms let you look down on the shrubs. Information boards are in Finnish, Swedish and English.
