Under the palm trees

Someone goes warming up to a public Sauna in this grey season, but I prefer going to the "tropic' under the big, class roof of the greenhouse. Here I can imagine, that I am somewhere else for a couple of hours. Hortus botanicus, "De Hortus", in Amsterdam is a great place to visit also in the winter time. I love the space in the big palm house: the huge class windows and the beautifully build class roof is protecting the big trees and giving enough of light. 

The palm house from 1921

The architecture from the palm house is great. Even if it is quite a big L-shaped element in the corner of garden, it looks light and elegant. The whole network of the class in the high windows and up by the roof is inspiring to see. This is a good place for the pot plants to spend their winter. Some trees in this house are very old (some even the oldest pot plants in the world) and this is a home for all these wonderful plants. You can climb the narrow steps up inside and have a look of the whole house from a narrow metallic balcony.

The steps up!

I would like to sleep here in a tent under the sky, but still protected from the outside world. Must be a mysterious place in the night time. This starts to sound like those movies about a man made ecosystem, like the only green place left to live.

The wind was extremely strong when I was visiting the botanical garden, even if it seems so peaceful in the pictures. I walked around in the outdoor garden and saw some very early signs of spring and flowers that are blooming typically in the wintertime. I am not so good at the names of the different plants. It is great that you can always see a name sign beside the tree or a flower when visiting a botanical garden - very educational. I was in 'Hortus Botanicus' last time in the end of October (If you want to see some more pictures, you can have a look at the blog text from 23.10.2015).

Erika herbaria, blooming in winter months

The garden is not very big, but there is a lot to see. There are plants from different climate placed in another big glass house. 

The three climate greenhouse

This visit gave me a lot of energy. I am considering of buying a year card, I know it would be worth it. Even just going for a coffee  and having a walk& a look afterwards. Every time it would be different, depending on the season and the company. From the 16th of April until the 19th of September 2016, there will be an interesting photo exhibition in the "Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam. The International garden photographer of the year(IGPOTY)exhibition will present some work of enthusiastic garden photographers. I loved to walk and take some photos myself and will be very curious to see this new photo collection of garden photographers later in the spring time.

A view from the lovely museum shop to the butterfly greenhouse.

A palm tree inside the cafe.

Wishing for you a good start for a new week!!! 

Hortus Botanicus

Autumn holiday is soon over, but the most relaxing and inspiring day  was today at the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam. I took so many pictures. It will be difficult to choose which ones I will add to this post.

De Hortus is located at Plantage Middenlaan, east side of the centre, near the zoo (Artis). It is one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world. There are several greenhouses where you can see plants from all over the world and sense different climate. 

There were so many plants that I stopped following the descriptions after a while. It was great to walk and breathe the air in every space and in the garden. The most beautiful room for me was where the big family of cactuses were living. A cool room after tropical heat. I loved the contrast of these spiky plants and the stony surroundings. 

We admired the small butterflies in one glasshouse. You could see many of them quite close and I captured a few of these with my camera. They looked so fragile and one butterfly was like made of the thinnest glass in the world. 

The shape of the garden area is like a triangle beside a canal. The sandy paths between the trees and plants are curvy. This is a big difference compared to the fact, that this cute and great spot of nature is surrounded with busy streets. If you want to take a break, this is a good tip.

This was just so amazing place. A perfect spot to meet a good friend, have a walk, talk, drink coffee and visit a charming museum shop. 

Because of the school holiday, it was possible to make your own piece of art from natural materials. I also read from their brochure, that in december de Hortus is taking part to Light Festival (10 dec 2015 - 3 jan 2016). This garden must be seen in every season. Have a good weekend!!