A year-round premium garden where nature and people can connect has been unveiled on Anmyeondo Island in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, known as the island of flowers and healing.
The Taean Office of the South Chungcheong Provincial Forest Resources Research Institute announced Wednesday that Anmyeondo Local Garden will begin trial operations on April 25 after completing a decade of construction work. The opening is timed to coincide with the Taean International Horticultural Healing Expo.
Anmyeondo Local Garden is a stay-type healing space that captures nature's beauty and the therapeutic functions of gardens, based on the island's maritime climate and rich ecological resources. The garden was developed over 10 years starting in 2016, with a total investment of 26 billion won on a 208,000-square-meter site in Jungjang-ri, Anmyeon-eup.
The site features the Garden Center as its core facility, along with various themed areas including Salt Flower Gardens (Welcome, Salt, Sea, and Participation gardens), Laughter Flower Gardens (Children's, Hill, and Play gardens), and Baby's Breath Gardens (Anmyeon Pine Forest, Bamboo Forest, and Cypress Forest).
The Garden Center, a two-story building with a total floor area of 1,975 square meters, is equipped with diverse amenities including exhibition halls, educational experience rooms, a healing zone, a seed library, and a cafeteria. A sloped garden where plants breathe was installed in the center, designed to allow visitors to feel nature's vitality even indoors.
The themed gardens each showcase their unique charm. The Children's Garden was designed with a forest village motif at children's eye level, while the Sea Garden features a space themed around marine life. The Salt Garden features sculptures evoking the atmosphere of old salt farms and includes a salt foot bath for relieving fatigue. In the Cypress Forest Garden, visitors can immerse themselves in nature while walking through cypress forests stretching on both sides along an earthy trail.
The plants in Anmyeondo Local Garden number 305 species and approximately 350,000 trees. The ecosystem comprises 2,012 trees of 78 species including Chinese quince, 52,830 shrubs of 88 species including bridal wreath spirea, 297,134 herbaceous plants of 278 species including Amur adonis, and 11 bonsai trees of 6 species.
During the trial operation period, various experience and guided tour programs will be offered. The Provincial Forest Resources Research Institute plans to inspect visitor capacity, traffic flow, and safety management, conduct satisfaction surveys to enhance completeness, and officially open in June.
"Anmyeondo Local Garden is a representative multi-cultural complex on the west coast," a Taean Office official said. "We will do our best to establish it as a premium local garden loved by people nationwide through thorough inspections."
