on my birthday back in october my parents & me went to the palmengarten in frankfurt - a botanical garden right in the middle of the city. i had been there in spring a few years ago and it felt like a good idea to revisit this time, since my parents didn't know it yet. it's a really beautiful place, one i think i should visit more often, especially because there are so many good photo ops everywhere and i'm a real sucker for plants & flowers & everything that's green. i love taking pictures of plants! there are so many intricate details to take in, and the beauty they possess just need no words, only admiration.
the palmengarten was first opened in 1871 ( even though some say it's been open since 1869 or so ) and the architecture was implemented by heinrich siesmayer, a well known landscape gardener back in those days. the pretty main building is one of the last remaining ones of the historic architecture - a lot was reconstructed in the 80ies, therefore you can find a good portion of modern exhibition halls. which is quite charming in my opinion! here we go again with my often mentioned love of juxtaposition.
we spent a whole day inside the garden ( from 11 am to 5 or 6 pm approximately? ) and really took our time exploring the halls and enjoying all the details. we also spent a short while inside the siesmayer cafe, where we devoured delicious birthday tarts. and in the evening we met up with my best friend who lives in frankfurt and had the most tasty dinner you can imagine at a vietnamese restaurant called mai vien. so it's safe to say that this birthday was just after my liking - with nature, cake, my parents, a best friend and good food ❤
well, and this adventure gave birth to over 100 pictures - which i really couldn't quite let go of. it just was a good photo day!
we started out inside the entrance hall with its remarkable glass roof.
with a great view down onto the fountain. look at that huge money tree on the right. when i compare it to my tiny one in my flat i feel like i should rethink my stance on houseplants ;)
this little pond greeted us outside of the entrance hall, not far away from cafe siesmayer. the autumnal backdrop made it even cozier.
absolutely adored those horsefish / fishhorses 😘
green feathers.
some cyclamen were still hanging around on the fall leaf littered grounds.
nature dude playing a leaf instrument? unfortunately i know nothing about mythological creatures.
the orchester shell inside the garden.
strange fruit ( of the osage orange tree )
( beware another unrelated musical piece sung by the wonderful billie holiday - i have such associations on a daily basis, just popping up because of a simple mention of a few words... )
it's a rather depressing song about the lynching in the dixielands, but it's so heartfelt and the tremble in her voice is so touching & moving. a perfect song.
the fruit of the osage orange are called milchorangen in german, which means milk oranges. they're called like that because they ooze a milky fluid when you cut them open. they are not related to oranges, though, but to mulberries in fact.
the palm house. it was built in 1869 and is one of the largest constructions of its kind in europe!
it was a lil foggy inside. my camera needed a bit of time to adjust to the new conditions. it made nice effects, though.
the lushness of this palm house forest was wonderful!
don't you think that green is such a soothing colour?
such a cool detail of the house - these stepping stones in the water. goldfish were swimming around inside the tiny pond as well.
lovely leaf patterns in pink 😍 ( pink actually isn't my favourite colour but i make exceptions when plants are involved )
leaving the palm house again. this room was really deserted, but it actually had a nice feel to it. i could imagine filming a dancing scene here. or establishing an art studio?
bright red tree/leaves installation by the big pond.
i loved documenting all the fall coloured trees, especially in those modern settings!
at the big pond you encountered some hungry carp muzzles! carps do crack me up sometimes, but i am also fascinated by them as they can be such gentle & soft fish.
you can also do some paddleboating on the pond!
and above the park towers the europaturm. okay, it's not that close, but close enough to always feel its presence.
pinkypink begonias.
no clue about this plant. but the berries looked really nice with their pinkish hues.
blue beauty.
alien plants ( kniphofia or rather torch lily )
the green leaves with huge spadex poking out of them were about 2 meters in diameter. pretty huge shit, y'all. and they were smelling really awful, lol. but well, still impressive. it's a giant rhubarb.
close-up of the spadex.
there's a little train going through the park as well, the palmen-express.
discovered black grass. how goth! where can i get this?
it's officially called ophiopogon planiscapus. i don't know the english word for it, but in germany it's called 'schwarzer schlangenbart' which translates into black snake beard. love it!
a squirrel crossed our path and i may or may not squealed with delight. i love encountering these cute animals. definitely a spirit animal of mine.
oh, hello cutie ❤
another place to eat in the park: villa leonhardi. the squirrel was hopping around in front of this building.
the awesome smelling golden leaves of the katsura tree which we call gingerbread tree in germany, but is commonly known as caramel tree in english. i think you can guess why. the scent of the autumnal leaves is truly delicious!
tiny white blossoms of the foam flower.
delicate blossoms. might be another form of the foam flower.
i really don't know what these are, but they are surely not native to germany. never seen these before.
red vines overgrowing fences.
and deeply violet/blue wolf's bane.
approaching haus leonhardsbrunn which houses alpine flora.
these glass domes make my heart beat faster.
not far away from haus leonhardsbrunn you can have a sneak peak to the subantarctic house.
loved how these leaves showed off first signs of autumnal change.
some alpine rock settings with various plants.
we didn't enter this house, even though i would've been really interested in it. ah, well, the dahlias were more important that day.
looking back into the direction of the messe tower ( that's the iconic building on the left with the pyramid on top )
haus leonhardsbrunn from a different angle.
couldn't get enough of the futuristic skyline from the gardens. especially in addition to the dahlias.
there was a big dahlia exhibition going on - well, october is basically the time of their lives! loved looking at all the different varieties. the dahlia is one of my most favourite flowers, so i went a little overboard with taking photos.
please keep in mind that all of the following titles i've given these flowers are not their real ones. i love making up flower names sometimes. this was 'pink fire'.
speckled painting.
peachy pompom.
luscious pink lady.
probably my favourite of them all: bloody dahlia.
these feel so perfect for a wedding or something. they look so pure & innocent ( which is why i call them rosy innocence in my head :p )
pink-tipped sun.
glorious symmetry.
saying goodbye to haus leonhardsbrunn and the dahlia exhibition.
ugh, those domes ❤
inside the subantarctic house.
prairie fields.
blue/black sage. i love the smell of sage.
approaching the tropicarium with the golden larches in the front.
and the water lily pond right next to it.
of course the water lilies were going dormant.
japanese maple tree splendor. it really looks like it's on fire. 🔥
bitter oranges on glass walls.
oooh i simply loved the thorny presentation of the bush. and the yellow on grey! feeds my brain with happy endorphins.
passed by some ducks. this one was especially beautiful.
haus rosenbrunn. it's surrounded by a rose garden.
kneeing nudie!
the water fountain was so beautifully incorporated in this setting of conifers.
finally entering the tropicarium.
ADORED this entrance hall. it was built in the 80ies and i feel like it's still giving off those vibes. what i also love about it is the fact that it's so light-flooded, even on grey days.
another strange fruit.
the arid tropicals are pretty much after my taste. at least when it comes to the plant variety. loved looking at all these thorny & prickly plants.
growing into the air.
that these plants thrive in arid regions means they are basically perfect for keeping them as pet plants as well. especially if you are bad at continuously watering them like i am 😂 they won't die so fast.
all the twirling branches ❤
we made our way to more humid areas.
and passed by some thriving water lilies as well.
she was a real beauty! ( and i really like the viscose-looking water here ).
beautiful bromelias!
i was really fascinated by these elephant's feet. especially love their structures.
a more geometrical one.
and how they were presented in an arid scenery.
cacti! unfortunately i have a real problem with determining cacti. there are just too many of them.
fresh growth.
fluffy babies.
bright red quotation marks. don't know what the cactus wanted to quote. it will stay a secret forever.
snakey cacti.
found bottlebrushes again.
we then ended up in the tropical section of the house - you know, the humid one.
did you know that banana trees are hermaphrodites? their blossoms build the perfect flower, they pollenize themselves.
banana tree leaves are so nice. so shady!
papaya tree granted us a sneaky view onto its fruit.
tropical orchids.
hide-and-seek! can you spot the shieldy animals?
tropical flowers are actually not my forte, especially not alien-looking blossoms. they are pretty, though.
dad admiring huge bamboo stems.
more bromelias. i really like these plants and their awesome flowers.
a very different bromelia blossom than what you've seen before.
leaf patterns 😍
the most splendid of them all: a passion fruit blossom.
this is not sharp, but i still like the focus on the aureola of the flower. these blossoms are so sophisticated.
after all this tropical/arid splendor we stepped outside again to visit this sculptural gingko leaf installment. it was built because of johann wolfgang von goethe - who was a huge gingko leaf lover and generally loved nature in all its forms. but mainly it was built on the alleged ground on which his mother once cultivated an orchard.
a memorial to commemorate goethe's mother and young goethe.
we soon made our way to the exit of the palmengarten, as it was about closing time. we found some solid metal cacti on our way there.
the back of the tropicarium. they were building a new part of the garden.
one last look at the entrance hall from the outside.
it was a splendid day, perfectly fine. just how i like to spend my birthdays ❤
Comments