A Stroll in Munich’s Botanical Garden

Munich’s Botanical Garden has a unique distinction, connected to the image above: it’s adjacent to the grounds of the Nymphenburg Palace and the famous state-owned Nymphenburg Porcelain Works, some of whose large-scale works are displayed in the garden.

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The garden’s been there since 1912, when it was created  to replace an older one at Karlsplatz in the city’s center. Its mission isn’t just to educate the public about plants and nature; its  charter also calls it a ‘beautiful and  restful’ environment, and it certainly is.

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It has a wide variety of plants—nearly 20,000 species  and  subspecies. Walking  through  the garden on a summer  day offers a constant change of environments in the  different sections of the garden and the greenhouses, and even a chance  to  be ‘peas  in a pod.’ The  sign reminds us  “It’s  the mix that counts.”

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As we wandered  the  garden, we were especially  struck by the  strong and in  some cases unusual colors on display.

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A common expression, seen in life: “As busy as a bee!” The garden also  provides a home for other insects as well, helping keep  the  balance of  nature.

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Some  more beauties as we wandered  toward the water feature near  the garden’s  center…

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In  the water-lily pond we were struck  by  this hybrid blossom called  “Meteor.”  The lilies share the pond with, among others, several  large but shy bullfrogs, whose calls we could hear even though  they made no appearance.

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Some more color, and if you look closely, some more bees…

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The purple petunias are called ‘Mirage Blue Star,’ so maybe the clearly purple color is an illusion?

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Vegetables contribute to the color as well

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In the ‘system garden,’ plants are grouped by their Linnaean names and families, with signs as a guide.

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The large greenhouses were next on our list. They offer a variety of ‘hothouse’  environments, from desert dry to seriously moist, even damp.

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Even without flowers, a colorful assortment of leaves…

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And the berries and blooms…

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Indoors we found another lily pond, with varieties needing more warmth. And  again, a spectacular blossom, this one called ‘Pacific Blue,’  though no one will  convince me it isn’t purple.

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All in all, a very pleasant garden for a visit, and a nice break in a week that may have had too many museums in it…

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