In March I spent 36 hours in Berlin on a blogger trip with a jam-packed first day and time to do my own thing on the second day. This was my third time in the German capital, but I hadn't cycled there before - my favourite way to see a city - so hired a bike to explore the parks and head down to the residential Lichterfelde borough 12km southwest of the centre to spend the morning at the Botanischer Garten.
The Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden is one of the largest and most important botanical gardens in the world: spanning a massive 43 hectares and housing a collection of over 20,000 plants from all over the world, it was built between 1897 and 1910 to showcase exotic plants brought back from German colonies. There's a restored Art Nouveau tropical greenhouse (which reminded me of Kew Gardens), arboretum, picturesque trails through woods and meadows, carp ponds, fountains, an ornamental Japanese arbour and an Italian garden.
The tropical, medical, native and herbaceous plants include beautiful orchids, giant bamboos in the humid pavilion, carnivorous plants, dappled ferns, giant water lilies, tall palm trees and wild roses. After a couple of peaceful hours wandering through the gardens, I biked back into the busy city centre for lunch at Restaurant Duke and more two-wheeled exploration in the spring sunshine. What a lovely day.
Read other Berlin features & nature posts
The Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden is one of the largest and most important botanical gardens in the world: spanning a massive 43 hectares and housing a collection of over 20,000 plants from all over the world, it was built between 1897 and 1910 to showcase exotic plants brought back from German colonies. There's a restored Art Nouveau tropical greenhouse (which reminded me of Kew Gardens), arboretum, picturesque trails through woods and meadows, carp ponds, fountains, an ornamental Japanese arbour and an Italian garden.
euphorbia atropurpurea
The tropical, medical, native and herbaceous plants include beautiful orchids, giant bamboos in the humid pavilion, carnivorous plants, dappled ferns, giant water lilies, tall palm trees and wild roses. After a couple of peaceful hours wandering through the gardens, I biked back into the busy city centre for lunch at Restaurant Duke and more two-wheeled exploration in the spring sunshine. What a lovely day.
Read other Berlin features & nature posts
rhododendron mucronulatum
cistus albidus
