The negative temperatures and consequences on the indoor temperatures in our home really got to me the other day. I have a bit of a trauma because we spent 7 winters in our home without proper heating. Keeping yourself warm is a fulltime activity and hard to combine with computer work. This time it wasn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but 16-17°C is so cold… To warm my heart and body I decided to edit the photos I made at the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam. And it helped! Have a look:
This past October, after our keynote talk at Meet the Blogger (and winning the Innovation Award for Urban Jungle Bloggers!), Igor and I visited one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world: de Hortus Botanicus. And it was bliss! And steamy! And beautiful!
A gorgeous Cycad from above:
The more precious plants (and some artefacts) are presented in this wooden display:
And the most Instagrammed spot in the Hortus, the cactus greenhouse:
The important task of Botanical Gardens is to preserve a maximum amount of plant species and do important research. Because: Extinct in the wild:
The Hortus is also a really nice place to relax and enjoy coffee & cake:
And admire the Victoria water lilies:
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We're in the middle of Amsterdam:
"There are several specimens of Encephalartos altensteinii (Eastern Cape giant cycad) in the Hortus. One of them is among the oldest container plants in the Western world. That plant, originally from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, was brought to The Netherlands about 300 years ago. In 1850, the Hortus purchased this cycad from the collection of the deceased King William II. Since then, it has been the showpiece of the Hortus.
Encephalartos species are dioecious, which means that there are male and female specimens. The oldest Eastern Cape giant cycad in the Hortus is a male specimen. Across from it is an approximately 200-year-old female specimen. Both plants form cones every few years. Hortus employees pollinate the female cones with the pollen collected from the male cones in order to obtain seeds. These seeds are then distributed to other botanical gardens across the world. In this way, the Hortus helps in the survival of this unique threatened plant species."
The male Cycad is in the back right:
One of the greenhouses was particularly steamy: hardly impossible to take pictures here: our lenses fogged up right away 😉
Steamy is perfect for Tillandsia, Airplants:
The impressive greenhouse roof:
Sinds 1638:
If you like to see more, visit the Hortus on your next trip to Amsterdam. Or check out Igor's Happy Interior Blog with more pictures from our visit! Or check Janneke's blog and Instagram as she regularly posts new pictures of the Hortus.
De Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam /// Plantage Middenlaan 2a /// 1018DD Amsterdam /// +31 20 62 59 021
Open daily from 10AM to 5PM (and 7PM on Sundays in the summer)
Looks like a nice place. Similar to the Bergius Botanic Garden in Stockholm, which also have those waterplants. http://www.bergianska.se/english/
Thank you for the suggestion, Nini! Another reason to visit Stockholm again soon (I love it there!).
It's such a nice botanical garden and definitely worth a visit. I remember our fun photo session hahahaha.
Yeah that was fun! Let's hope for more botanical garden visits together this year!
I love this sort of place ! It's so peaceful !
your green place looks lovely great!! i will try to plant some chili and habanero this year in my small garden.
die seerosen sind wirklich wunderschön :) die form der blätter ist wirklich aussergewöhnlich. Ich habe mir immer viel mühe mit den in meinen teich gegeben, aber so schön waren die nie!
What a magical place! I never visited it, and did not even visit (with my camera that is) the Hortus Botanicus in my home town, which is now quite high in my to do list :-)
Beautiful pictures Judith, as always.
xxx
I like the pictures! Greenery is always a pleasure to watch. Probably, air is also fresh there.