ProSpecieRara kitchen garden

The kitchen garden runs discreetly along the railway line. If the lettuces have gone to seed, it’s not because they’ve been forgotten! Ever since the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of Geneva have been working with ProSpecieRara, a Swiss foundation dedicated to inherited genetic diversity among vegetables and farm animals, our gardeners have been multiplying seeds from ancient varieties of vegetables. Here, things are never picked in time, because the aim is to gather seeds from the iconic Plainpalais cardoon thistle, the Swiss chard (Chenopodiaceae Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris var. flavescens), the Paudex fleshy tomatoes and the Rouge de Marmande tomatoes.

Ancient varieties of fruit tree

We also cultivate a magnificent historic orchard where ancient varieties of fruit tree flourish, like the Sept en gueule pear, the Api Etoile apple and the Noire d’Etoy cherry. This orchard illustrates the fabulous diversity of fruits and how they can be used (fresh fruit, juice, conserves, marmalades, liqueurs, etc.). It also allows us to take cuttings to multiply these ancient varieties elsewhere. The Western Switzerland office of ProSpecieRara has been based in the Botanical Garden since 1996.

You too can help preserve biodiversity

ProSpecieRara seeds for your garden are on sale in the Botanic Shop

More information on the activities of the foundation

Map of the garden