Hortus Botanicus – Amsterdam’s botanical gardens

Following on from my travel guide to autumn in Amsterdam, I thought I would dedicate another post to the city’s beautiful botanical gardens, otherwise known as Hortus Botanicus.

I always like to seek out pockets of greenery during a city break – they offer a calm antidote to the urban hustle and bustle. Botanical gardens in particular are a form of escapism; they help transport you to another place, whether it’s the lush, tropical forest or the dry, deadly quiet desert. Often on a city break, it’s easy to rush around, trying to get from one place to another and making sure to tick everything off your list. Walking around a botanical garden forces you to slow down and go back to your natural rhythm. I find being surrounded by greenery instantly soothing; there’s just so much to admire and take in, from looking up at the great heights of palm fronds to zooming in on the little details of each veined leaf.

Amsterdam’s Hortus Botanicus is conveniently located just to the east of the city centre. Originally founded in the 1600s as a garden for medicinal herbs, it is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. The bucolic grounds feature a series of outdoor gardens, a three climate greenhouse, a palm house and a butterfly house as well as a cafe in the 19th century orangery.

The greenhouses are the main attraction. Designed in 1993 by Zwarts & Jansma Architects, the Three Climate Greenhouse is divided into three different zones with varying climatic conditions, from dry scrubland, through the desert, to the jungle. Take the metal canopy walk up to the top of the modern glass construction and pass from cool subtropics to damp humidity. I was fascinated by the patterns the leaves impressed upon the steamed up glass in between the different sections.

Interestingly, Hortus Botanicus is planning an extensive renovation for the Three Climate Greenhouse in 2023. At the moment, any redundant warmth from the air conditioning systems at the nearby Hermitage Museum is used to heat the greenhouses at Hortus. The resulting cold is then transported back to the Hermitage. Hortus plans to transform the greenhouse into a sustainable home of biodiversity, with insulated, double glazing and a transparent, insulating ETFE foil roof. I can’t wait to go back and see it!

Then there’s the Palm Greenhouse. It was originally built in 1911 to keep the then director of the Hortus Botanicus, Hugo de Vries, from moving abroad. Designed by architect Johan Melchior van der Mey, it houses a collection of palms, cycads and container plants. In the summer, some of these are moved outside, but there are a few that remain steadfast in place – a 350-year-old, giant, palm-like cycad, a cinnamon tree (said to be planted by de Vries himself), two ficus trees and a sprawling philodendron tree.

Nearby in a smaller greenhouse is the Butterfly house, where you can admire the fluttering tropical butterflies as they dance from one plant to another.

Then it was back to the city with a new sense of calm. I’m not an expert on plants and I’d love to learn more about the different species, but for now it’s just enough to walk around and admire all the beauty. If I was local I’d come here all the time for a breather away from it all.

Do you ever visit botanical gardens when you’re in a new city? Are there any that are your favourites?