Episode: South Korea

Presenter: Trevor Cochrane, Neville Passmore

Yeomiji Botanical Garden is one of the most spectacular that Trevor has ever seen and it is a major tourist destination.

It is also home to the biggest conservatory in East Asia, a whopping 1.3 hectares, under glass.

The first thing you should do when you go there is head inside and take the elevator to the 8^th floor. It will put you on the viewing platform that looks over all of the botanical garden and indeed most of Jeju Island.

You would think that a botanical garden is a destination for garden lovers, but the truth is, it is a destination for all lovers. The garden is a number one destination for honeymooners and they have this very cute tradition for wearing matching shirts. They are everywhere and love really is in the air!

The undercover tropical fruit garden gives you the opportunity to see mature trees with the fruit actually hanging from them. This is a very different view to the one that you get in the supermarket.

One very weird example is the Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina), it twists and turns red as it matures. Another is the beautiful Five Corner or Star Fruit (Averrhoa carambola), which hang like Chinese lanterns beneath the canopy; very beautiful.

There are also bananas in full bunch as well as Tropical Guava (Psidium guajava), one of the easiest tropical fruits to grow in Australia in frost free locations. There are even coffee beans, but they take a fair bit of processing before you get to drink the first cup.

The conservatory that covers the flower garden allows plants that normally have short life spans, due to climatic extremes, to perform all year round.

Trevor?s highlights include voluptuous Tuberous Begonia (Begonia Hybrid Cultivar, Tuberous group) in their oranges, yellows and whites. The Pentas (Pentas lanceolata c.v) have been used fabulously as bedding plants with a great contrast between the brilliant reds and the soft pinks and whites.

The old favourite of Trevor?s is the Golden Candles (Pacystacys lutea) which is a real beauty indoors.

For the outdoor spaces, the one that appealed to Neville most was the French parterre garden. It is a very formal style of garden based on a frame made of Korean Box and inside those frames are a whole series of annuals and perennials that give colour.

There is only one colour used to fill each space, which leaves a neat and tidy overall effect that is visually appealing.

The Japanese are well recognised as the masters of gardening and not without good reason. Their ability to bring raw materials and plants together to create perfect gardens is world famous.

Yeomiji Garden would have to be the best Trevor has ever seen. The plant features are spectacular; the Japanese Sago Palm is a huge cycad that is used as a great big feature plant and just by looking at it you can tell why it is a popular plant in the world today.

Then there is the clipped pines which are perfection and just gorgeous. They were all hand selected from the field and then transported in and transplanted into the ground.

This is one garden with just so many things to see which is a bit like the entire country. The gurus have travelled from the North right down to the South and at best they have merely scratched the surface.

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