The Aburi Botanic Garden is one of the most beautiful, peaceful and fascinating places in Ghana. The Aburi Botanic Garden is one of the world’s 2500 botanic gardens and between them grow the largest array of plant diversity outside nature and receive over 150 million visitors every year.
Aburi Botanic Garden have had many roles over the years including plant introduction and teaching scientific methods of agriculture but today is one of the many institutions leading the fight to save plant diversity through
research
growing endangered plants
plant multiplication
horticultural training
environmental education
The Aburi Botanic Gardens, situated on the Akwapim ridge is about 38 kilometres north east of Accra a long the old Accra K.oforrdua road. It is also 22 kilometres from Nsawam and 48 kilometres from Koforidua. The Garden overlooks the coastal plain at an elevation of 370 to 460 metres (1200-1 soft) above sea level.
The Garden covers an area of 64.8 hectares (160 acres) but only 12.2 hectares (30 acres) have been developed in to a formal garden with the remaining 52.6 hectares forming the Botanical reserve.
THE SOIL
The soils of the Aburi Botanic Garden have in the past been disturbed by frequent cultivation for food production. In general the soil pattern is rather complex.
The soil consist largely of relatively shallow soils developed other quartzite and sandstone. These rocks dip steeply at 60° to 90° so that successive bands are encountered, each giving rise to somewhat different soils. The most extensive soils are probably the Fete series, a Shallow soil over quartzite.
The parent rock often ferruginised may be found at relatively shallow depths, i.e. 0.5 – 1.0 metre below. Occasional patches of Mamfe and Midi series also occur. The Mamie series is a very gravely soil containing abundant concretions and gravel to about 85 a metre below which ferruginised quartzite or sandstone is found. The Midi series is a red sandy loam, also rather shallow, overlying ferruginised sandstone.
Development
The Greater part of the present garden was developed by Curator W. Crowther and W.H. Johnson during whose time the Garden assumed much of its present form. Mr Johnson later became the first Director of Agriculture. His intention was to turn Abu r; into an Agriculture station.
Aburi however later proved as an Agricultural station due to.
a Poor and rocky soils
b. A damp climate, and
C. Lack of space for expansion
The research branch of the Agricultural Secretariat was therefore mothed to Accra: in 1922. In 1928, it was finally decided to abandon all agricultural experiments on the station and to Lonnrot it into a “purely” Botanic Garden. Tre work was under the management of Mr. G. H. Eady who had previously been in charge of. the station. General minor alterations were quickly made and more decorative plants were introduced.
Between 1939 and 1953 several departments sojourned in the Garden. Some of of these were:
a. Achimota kindergarten (evacuated during the war)
b. Soil and Land-use Survey Department
C. Political Department and District Commissioner’s office
