Easter Sunday-Bonn Botanical garden

Easter morning

Weather, bright, sunny and warm, what a change from yesterday!

I had a couple of years ago went to the Botanical gardens only to find it closed on inquiring I discovered that it is always closed on a Saturday without exception, so this being a Sunday I was hopeful of gaining entry, we arrived at about 09:30 and a notice informed us and anyone else that was willing to read it that entry was from 09:00, good then it should be open, looked through the locked and barred gates, tried the handle rattled the bars, nope well and truly not open.


We walked around the front of the Poppelsdorfer Schloss (this and some of its grounds form the NW boundary to the botanical gardens, it is now the mineralogical and petrologic faculty).

The whole of this area is part of the Bonn University, most of which are housed in buildings of great architectural value.

On returning we saw someone opening up the ticket booth, we asked when the gates would be un-bared, reply at 10:00. We then saw a sign adjacent to the booth with the opening time as 10:00, we again read the notice, yes this did read 09:00, when we collected our tickets we mentioned the discrepancy to the lady, she look at us in amazement, a look that was saying “we do not make mistakes in a university”, she told a junior entrance ticket seller person to go and have a look, this one returned with the sad news that we where right, thanked us and said “it shall be corrected”. I mean we cannot have such glaring mistakes for foreigners to pick up, no doubt heads will roll.

We entered the area in front of the Schloß and had a walk through the grounds, some of the plants and trees where like coiled springs, just needing another degree or two to burst forth in glorious leaf and bloom.

Some like the Magnolia and Rhododendron had already flowered and where in the process of dropping their petals.

Birds where chirping, singing and trilling, hopping from bough to bough and searching for their breakfast

a pair of red squirrels playing tag up and down the trees (I think one had a bit more than a game of tag in mind).

Now where is she

I am sure I saw her

must be around here somewhere

In some areas, the wet lands a bit of reconfiguration was in hand, but not on Easter morn.

We traipsed the grounds, returning to the great greenhouses that are entered from opposite the Schloß. The first that one enters is the tropical vegetation one, “glass wearers and photographers beware”, misty glasses and misty camera lens, so have glass cleaning material ready at hand.

the mist

Well there was great palms and ferns, bamboos and gaudy hanging orchids, it was really a grand display. 

Next through a pair of doors was the aqua floral display with the ponds full of water lilies and roses.

Next came the cacti house, this looked like a scene from the Good the Bad and the Ugly, huge barrel cacti, sprawling snake like ground cacti and those that have arms pointing skyward like antennae.