Azalea in full bloom at Rīga's botanical gardens

The tradition of collecting azaleas at the LU Botanical Garden has been going on for more than half a century. The foundation for the collection was laid in 1956 by Professor Rihards Kondratovičs, who created 26 new varieties between 1962 and 2017 and built a unique collection that today includes the work of both Latvian and foreign breeders. From the largest collection in the Baltics in the 1970s, it has grown into the most extensive collection of azaleas in Northern Europe, with almost 1,000 bushes.

The azalea collection features a wide range of colours, from soft white to bright pink and red, as well as two-tone and double flowers, according to the Botanical Garden.

The garden invites visitors to enjoy the full bloom over the next few weeks, while the collection is at its most spectacular.