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Possible trip to Duisburg and Koln

Discussion in 'Germany' started by Crowthorne, 16 Oct 2014.

  1. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    Cologne Botanical Gardens is lovely and is very, very close to the zoo. I've no idea how long a plant nerd would spend there though.
     
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  2. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    Like you, I'm also a plant nerd in addition to an animal nerd XD There are two main botanical collections in the Western Westfalia zone: the Köln botanical gaden, called Flora, and the botanical garden at the university of Bonn. Both are free.

    The first one is atonishingly bad, or at least the part that I was able to visit. Its an enormous extension of forests, lawns and flower beds, one aquatic section and a vegetable garden, with very few sections of labelled plants. They have an arid/desert greenhouse, empty and reforming. The most interesting thing is a small corner of South African flora including restios and proteas, just in front of the greenhouse of "subtropical flora" that I was unable to visit because it closes very soon (from outside I only was able to see a Hauya elegans in full bloom, being the only rarity, also a Bignonia capreolata and some begonias and other ornamental common greenhouse plants. The garden is just in front of the zoo, separated by a single road. I don't know what's inside the big main building at the entrance, as it was closed during my visit, but they doesn't looks lke greenhouses.

    The Bonn botanical garden is much more difficult to access (I remember half an hour waiting until a tran barrier opens, together with many other people, and after surround the whole university, entering a pub with acces to the gardens but this acces is closed, asking again and finally finding the entry), but is definitely a must, is the best botanical garden in the zone, and I enjoyed sooo much despite because of lack of time (as I passed most of the day at the Museum) I only visited a small part of the garden and was unable to enter inside any of the many greenhouses that were already closed. You start with a very big extension of rockery plants, to the right the main greenhouse, with a collection of australasian flora and after an incredible australasian conifer collection, with more species of extremely rare Araucaria that you can imagine and also very good representation of Podocarpaceae, you continue turning to right after the greenhouse and you find South African hardy herbaceous species by one side and a collection of Proteaceae and other rarities by the other, if you continue in this zone you will find the carnivorous greenhouse surrounded outdoors by hardy gingers, Arisaema and Cypripedium, you can go straight and admire the enormous Magnolia collection or turn back and continue to more greenhouses with south african rarities and venezuelan tepui flora, including a very good Velloziaceae collection, many Nepenthes, etc... and the most fabulous star, the incredible extremely rare superdreamed WORSLEYA PROCERA!!!!!!! (shame I caught it with dried flowers only). And all this with the closed greenhouses, so imagine what can you see if you can enter inside unlike me! Coming back to the main path you will find a forest of rare hardy conifers, including some so fabulous and rare such as Amentotaxus!!! Lagarostrobos, Sciadopitys etc etc. By side to is is the big Systematic collection with plants ordered taxonomically. Not much to see in full summer in this section as I did, as many plants already passed blooms, but in spring must be spectacular! The center of the systematic section is a round square with aquatic plants, hewe is where I saw my most dreamed plant of all the garden, the extremely wished REGNELLIDIUM DIPHYLLUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I think that if you're a true plant nerd like me, maybe you will need two days only for the botanical garden :p I didn't revisited it because I was hosted in Köln and not in Bonn, and my days are limited here with the zoological collections still pending to visit :)

    I hope that this is useful to you :)
     
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  3. Crowthorne

    Crowthorne Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Thank you so much @Kakapo for such a great introduction to the Bonn Botanical Gardens! I'm not so much a plant nerd as my boyfriend (who really is!). We're both very keen on carnivorous plants though, so anywhere with a good collection of those does sound like a must :)
     
  4. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    Ah, I understood badly what you're meaning with "the other half" - its your boyfriend, hehe. Maybe he would enjoy reading my text about Bonn botanical garden, if he knows the plants that I described :)

    I'm not very fond of carnivorous because they are "too popular" and it's difficult to see new species visiting more botanical gardens, for example I have photographed almost all species of genus Sarracenia... of course I would be very glad to see something more special like Aldrovanda vesiculosa, hehe :p

    P. S. Happy Saint Valentine's day for both of you :)
     
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  5. Crowthorne

    Crowthorne Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Hehe, thanks @Kakapo :) we grow a lot of unusual houseplants so we really like to see how they are grown at botanical gardens. I've got three species of Drosera on the windowsill, two nepenthes, plus orchids, ferns and two little tea shrubs Camellia sinensis. When we go zoos I like watching the animals, he likes inspecting the plants ;)
     
  6. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    Glad to know that I'm not the only person photographing plants inside zoos :p There are some spectacular species that I only found in a zoo (for example Calathea musaica at Tierpark Hellabrunn). But of course I took more attention to the animals when I visit zoos :)
     
  7. TZDugong

    TZDugong Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    If you like plants the go to the San Diego Zoo. I swear they had more species of plants then animals!
     
  8. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    For an European like Crowthorne, California is much more difficult to get than Germany ;) Well, San Diego zoo have some nice botanical things, such a splendorous Bauhinia galpinii, a Stigmaphyllum ciliatum and a superb big individual of the impressive Schizolobium parahybum (these are the higlights that I remember during my visit). But if you want to visit a really superb botanicall collection inside/mixed with a zoo, and not in a botanical garden appart... then nothing can beat Plzen zoo. There is where I saw my first Phyllocladus ever - but Bonn botanical garden also have one (of another species).
     
  9. TZDugong

    TZDugong Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I've heard about Plzen's botanical collection and while I'm not a plant aficionado, I still enjoy looking at plants. Just as San Diego is far away for a European, Plzen is far away for a Canadian.
     
  10. Crowthorne

    Crowthorne Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Quick question for anyone familiar with transport in and around Cologne, it looks like our proposed flight will be landing pretty late at night on a Sunday; does public transport run into Cologne city centre from the airport (CGN) at that time? Are the taxis reasonable? We're booking hotel+flights and this the only one on our chosen day that is direct. Getting nervous being this close to booking the trip and don't want to mess up by getting us stuck at Cologne airport on the first night! :eek:
     
  11. Welsh Zootographer

    Welsh Zootographer Well-Known Member

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    I believe the trains run in to the early hours, the airport has a railway station within it.
     
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  12. Crowthorne

    Crowthorne Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Thank you @Welsh Zootographer That was the impression Google was giving me, but can't seem to find anything concrete. In my head, a big airport like CGN should have trains running as late as flights, like the Heathrow Connect/Express does
     
  13. Welsh Zootographer

    Welsh Zootographer Well-Known Member

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    Bus & rail services
     
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  14. agnmeln

    agnmeln Well-Known Member

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    Absolutely, yes it does. I had a 4am train to catch for my flight home from Cologne.
     
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  15. Crowthorne

    Crowthorne Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    4 am? Ouch!
     
  16. agnmeln

    agnmeln Well-Known Member

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    I’ve done a lot worse - when I was dancing, there were a couple of times that I did all nighters in the airport after competitions to save on the cost of a hotel.
     
  17. Dassie rat

    Dassie rat Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Did you dance for Simon Smith?
    .
     
  18. agnmeln

    agnmeln Well-Known Member

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    No - I danced for Russia! However, in my current employment I work with a contracted provider by the name of Simon Smith.
     
  19. Dassie rat

    Dassie rat Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  20. agnmeln

    agnmeln Well-Known Member

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