Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam

[bixaorellana]

This botanical garden was established in 1638 as an emergency measure, since medicinal herbs were desperately needed to combat the Black Death raging through Amsterdam at the time.
Originally known as Hortus Medicus, by 1682 traders of the Dutch East India Company had stocked it full of rare plants from all over the world. A coffee plant in the garden was the parent for most of the stock currently in the Americas and two small oil palms provided cultures for those plants around the world. Further reading here and also here.

Note that I've snitched the first picture here from that first link, as I failed to snap one of the rather unassuming entrance after bumbling around trying to find it ~



After entering through the tiny gift shop, you emerge into the shade of a cork oak. Note the people just relaxing and hanging out.
The garden manages to impart the feeling of something between a park and a home garden -- at any rate, it's very welcoming.






Wonderful to see Victoria amazonica right out here in the open. And I love the lotus and its reflection ~



The rue (Ruta graveolens) is blooming furiously and the bees are working away ~





Great burnet ~






Elecampane ~






I believe this is southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum ~



And good old runner beans ~

[bixaorellana]

This plant proves what a serious herbal garden this is, as plantain is often dismissed as a weed, but in fact is enormously useful ~



The other cork oak ~



Inside the bamboo grove ~



Crinum ~





Oh boy -- the butterfly house ~





Here are some plant friends I know from Mexico: the culinary herb epazote, Dysphania ambrosioides ...



... and jamaica or roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa ~

[bixaorellana]

Here is teasel. As you see, the Dutch common name also makes reference to carding ~




Genista, a venerable plant for making dye ~




Now here is a great mystery. I had to vie with an entire ladies' camera club to get these pictures. I have not the faintest idea of what this might be ~







I never before knew that this plant could be eaten ~




Here is another plant that I know very well, but didn't know about all its uses. It is pickerelweed, Pontederia cordata ~







I only stuck my head into this towering glass house, as it was quickly apparent that most of its inhabitants were summering outside ~



In quick succession I saw two old plant friends, although the labels weren't to be found.

But this is rather obviously an Illicium. I'm guessing I. floridanum, even though its petals are rather burnt ~





And what kind of Louisianian would I be if I didn't recognize sassafras?

[kerouac2]

They should change the name of those places from botanical gardens to pollination gardens. Naturally, I totally love the photo of the bee making a bee line for the reddish flower.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Kerouac! Yes, that was a lucky shot, with his little cartoon wings whirring away. I visited on July 12 and you can see there was a July abundance of flowers to pollinate.

This Skimmia was growing in the same woodsy area as the previous two photos ~




Moving on down another enticing garden path ~





Rock gardens can be problematic, as they often don't offer much drama in the landscape.
But really, they are enchanted places where surely elves gather & fairies dance among the opalescent grays and ferny silvers under the moonlight ~









I put my glasses in the picture to give an idea of how teensy the Sedum is ~



It's pretty impressive up close ~





Moving along, I spy the back of the bee hive shelter across the water ~



It's equally protected from the front, as it's set back from the path with a stern request not to approach it ~

[bixaorellana]

I found the placement of many plant groups interesting, as it must be a feat to find just the right spot in that climate.
These pitcher plants backed up to a glass house and were near the vegetables ~







More vegetable plots. These were across a little path & bordered on the other side by the water ~



So much color in a useful garden ~



The bees were wild for these cardoon flowers ~







You can imagine I was taken aback when I noticed these heads in the water. Yes, they're sculpture, but disconcerting nonetheless ~

[bixaorellana]

Time for some real drama from the hotter, drier parts of both the old and the new worlds ~

Sotol -- Dasylirion acrotrichum








Dyckia -?-






The desert house adjoins this humid house dedicated to plants from South Africa, which include many old friends we know as house plants ~








On the way out I admire the casually elegant indoor-outdoor cafe, with its dragon blood tree, Dracaena cinnabari ~





~ That's it! I urge people not to miss this lovely botanical garden when in Amsterdam. ~

[lugg]

What a lovely garden Bixa . Loved the bee and butterfly pics . Cardoons - now I am going to have to look that up as I have never heard of them and I thought the pics were artichokes when I saw them. I wonder what the story is behind those sculpted heads ?

[kerouac2]

It looks like a very pleasant place, and the fact that it does not appear to be "spectacular" actually adds to the charm. I bet the locals feel quite at home there.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you so much, Lugg!
I am still trying to find out about those heads. You would think information on something that striking in a canal would be easier to find.
I only knew what the cardoons were because they were labeled. They seem like something Scarlett O'Hara had to eat after the Yankees had marauded through her land. They are indeed a kind of artichoke, but ... What the Heck Do I Do With a Cardoon?

Kerouac, you really picked up on the homey atmosphere of the place. Walking through it does seem like wandering through a real garden, with the bonus of learning about what you're seeing, if you wish. And it does invite you to simply hang out, meaning it's a great place for someone interested in plants to visit with someone who is not.

[kerouac2]

The name cardoon makes me think of chardon in French, which means nettle. And of course artichokes are a kind of nettle.

[lugg]

ooh cheese from Cardoons. A type of nettle ... I never knew that K2

[bixaorellana]

Sept 24, 2018 19:46:04 GMT kerouac2 said:

And of course artichokes are a kind of nettle.

*gives Kerouac a repressive look*

Sept 25, 2018 18:21:31 GMT lugg said:

cheese from Cardoons

That cheese-making aspect would seem to be a plus, wouldn't it, as to me they otherwise seem something people wouldn't bother trying to eat unless starving.

As far as what Kerouac said .... *sigh*
Cardoons are not a type of nettle. They are a type of artichoke, as both are Cynara -- cardoon is C. cardunculus and artichokes are C. scolymus. Nettles, on the other hand (or not on the hand -- that hurts), are of the genus Urtica, specifically U. dioica

Just because something is prickly does not mean it is related to something else that is prickly. I for instance, prickly though I may be, am of the genus Homo, specifically H. sapiens. Sorry for the pedantry, but in the context of a botanical garden, it seems better to be accurate.

Edited to add that I just looked up chardon on Google translate (not the soul of accuracy, admittedly) & was told that it is "thistle". It further said, Mauvaise herbe à feuilles épineuses. So I suppose some French people probably call nettles chardons, plus it may be a regional thing.

[kerouac2]

Actually I meant "thistle."

[bixaorellana]

Yeah, I wondered about that. I guess since you speak two languages with equal facility, you're allowed the rare moment of confusion.

[lugg]

Thistle ahh yes now I do understand

[bixaorellana]

But were too polite to question it publicly!

[amboseli]

Brilliant photos. Especially the macro's.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Amboseli!