Gossip Round: Why the Moon Museum in Peradeniya Really Matters

Today is no ordinary day. Sri Lanka opens the doors of the Moon Museum in the Royal Botanic Garden, Peradeniya — the country’s first museum dedicated to a botanic garden. For plant lovers, scientists, and everyday gossipers alike, this is history in bloom.

The museum is named after Alexander Moon, the British botanist who in 1821 established Peradeniya as the island’s royal garden. Moon wasn’t just planting trees — he planted an idea. In 1824, he published A Catalogue of the Indigenous and Exotic Plants Growing in Ceylon, listing 1,127 species with their local and scientific names. Imagine: two centuries ago, Moon was already documenting the green DNA of Sri Lanka.

So, why does this museum matter?

It’s a living history book: Four halls take you from colonial times (coffee and tea plantations) to modern-day conservation challenges.

It’s science with style: Fossils, rare plant specimens, antique publications, interpretative models, and digital displays connect past to present.

It’s education that sticks: Schoolchildren, uni students, tourists — everyone leaves with a sharper sense of why plants matter.

It’s national pride: Over 4,000 plant species, Asia’s richest palm collection, and a world-class orchid house all now have a museum to tell their story.

As H.C.P. Jayaweera, director general of the Department of National Botanic Gardens, put it: “The Moon Museum is more than an homage, it is a living testament to Sri Lanka’s botanical legacy.”

And Dr Ravindra Kariyawasam went further: “Botanic gardens are not just landscapes of beauty, but living laboratories of conservation and knowledge.”

Now, let’s add the gossip twist. Imagine if Alexander Moon himself walked into the Moon Museum today. What would he say? Perhaps:

“In my day, I counted 1,127 plants with pen and paper. Now I see 4,000 species celebrated in living color. I planted Peradeniya to be a garden of science and beauty. You’ve made it into a garden of the world. Bravo!”

That’s why this museum matters. It’s not just about plants, fossils, or glass cases. It’s about continuity — from Moon’s 1821 vision to Sri Lanka’s 2025 pride. The Moon Museum whispers a timeless truth: our lives are rooted in plants, and without them, the future withers.