Bengt Michael Schalin (7 January 1889 – 9 November 1982) was a well-known garden architect and botanist in Finland during the 20th century.[1][2][3]

Bengt Schalin
Born
Bengt Michael Schalin

(1889-01-07)7 January 1889
Died9 November 1982(1982-11-09) (aged 93)
OccupationGarden architect

Life

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Schalin obtained his secondary school diploma in 1907 in Turku and went on to study horticulture in Belgium and Germany, where he obtained a degree in gardening in 1912 from the Köstritz Higher School of Horticulture.[1][2] He ran his own garden design office in Helsinki from 1916 until 1922.[1] From 1922 until 1944, he had his own garden and nursery in Kyrkslätt in Finland.[1][2]

He was employed as the city gardener in Helsinki from 1946 until his retirement in 1957.[1] He was considered one of Finland's leading experts in the field of garden archicture, with a speciality in perennial plants and decorative bushes.[4] He was also a pioneering plant breeder who grew new hybrid lilies, rhododendrons, crab apple trees, roses and viburnums for the gardens in Helsinki.[3]

He designed a large number of private and public gardens, including the botanical garden in Jakobstad and the park at Vanögård (Vanajanlinna).[2]

References

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