summer at the Hortus

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Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

The Hortus is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm (in summer we are open until 9 pm, only on Thursdays and Sundays). The Hortus is largely an outdoor location, so there is enough space to safely enjoy a visit.

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The garden and cafe are open every day from 10:00 - 17:00 hrs.

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🖐🏻Here's an interesting shrub: the 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘪 or dead men's fingers, a member of the 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘦 family. It's native to Nepal, China and Tibet. These 'fingers' you're looking at are its bean-like seedpods, which appear in autumn. ⁠
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🥒In Dutch this plant is called 'pickle shrub' (literal translation). With some imagination, it looks like a bundle of blueish pickles! We wouldn't recommend snacking these, though.

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Here's a lovely shot of water mint (𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘢𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢). It grows in moist places and it's a common plant in most of Europe. ⁠
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🌿Like most 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘦 species it's rather aromatic and it can be used to make herbal tea. It's medicinal uses include relieving cramps and pain, and to stimulate digestion. ⁠

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The Japanse beautyberry (𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘢 𝘫𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢) is - a bit unexpectedly maybe - a plant in the mint family! ⁠
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☕️It's known for producing these striking lilac-purple berries and as the name suggests, it's a common species in Japan. The berries are not edible for humans, but you can make herbal tea from the leaves.⁠
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🟣You can spot this magical looking shrub in our Thunberg section. ⁠

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🍄No plants this time! Here's a member of the 𝘎𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮 family, a mushroom species commonly known as earthstar. We found this in the back of the garden, close to our Wollemi pine. ⁠
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🌟These puffball-shaped mushrooms get their name from how the body splits into segments when mature. The outer layer of the fruiting body turns outward, creating a starlike pattern. ⁠
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❓️Can you tell us which specific earthstar species we're dealing with here? ⁠

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'A botanical garden hidden inside the city', is how visitor @_justorangee puts it. ⁠
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🍃Beautiful photo of the outside of our Palm Greenhouse on a sunny autumn day. ⁠
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📸 Want to be featured on our feed to? Tag us @hortusamsterdam and use #hortusamsterdam. We can never get enough of our visitors' captures!

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Who said flowers only bloom in spring and summer? There's lots to see, all year round!⁠
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🐝This bee is visiting a begonia species, 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘥. ⁠
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🥶As the common name 'hardy begonia' suggests,, it is winter hardy in some temperate regions. The plant originally grows in cold forests in China and Japan. ⁠
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👩🏽‍🍳Cooks use the delicate flowers as a decoration on dishes. Stylish food! ⁠

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😍So much detail! ⁠
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This is garden stork's-bill (𝘌𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘪): it blooms from June - September. It's native to the Pyrenees mountains of France and they prefer rocky or calcareous soils. The seed pods of this plant are bill-shaped, hence the name. ⁠
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❕𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮-𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀 pay attention! Today and the next few days might just be your last chance this year to see its flowers.⁠
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💮Our 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘹 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘏𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥 grows in the outdoor heated pond. Next week, the heating will be turned off, meaning the bloom will come to a halt. Seeds will be harvested for our collection and to ensure new Victoria plants in the new season! ⁠
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🤍So come by one of these days and catch a last glimpse of these magnificent flowers!⁠
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💜Look at this vivid purple!⁠
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⚱️𝘋𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, or Irish heath, produces small urn-shaped, bright purple-pink flowers. It's widely distributed along the European Atlanic coasts, for instance in the mountains in the west of Ireland (Galway). ⁠
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⛪️The name of this heath honours the Irish Saint Dabheog: founder of a monastery in Donegal.⁠

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🍂👉Swipe for a collection of autumnal seeds and berries! All of these can now be found in our garden: a lovely colour palette. ⁠
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🟠Which one is your favourite and why? ⁠
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1. Stinking iris (𝘐𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘢)⁠
2. Pigeon berry (𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢)⁠
3. Asparagus (𝘈𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴)⁠
4. Bittersweet nightshade (𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢)⁠

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Rugged yellow balsam (𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢) belongs to a genus of the balsam family (𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘦). This genus has about 800 to 900 species: this one you can find in our Halfrond-garden.⁠
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🌋Balsam is known for its explosive character: other names include 'touch-me-not' or 'snapweed', which refers to the explosive dehiscence of the seed capsules. The mature capsules burst, sending the seeds up to several meters away. ⁠

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💚We hope you're having a lovely weekend. Now is the perfect time to go for an autumn stroll through the woods. Or enjoy this peaceful shot of a fern from your comfy couch. ⁠
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🧓🏼Did you know in the history of our earth, ferns were the first plant group to produce leaves? They appear in fossils that are over 400 million years old. ⁠

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😍Detail of the 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘢, a very sturdy and popular garden plant. ⁠
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✝️The passion in passion flower actually has a religious connotation: in the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted various physical structures of the flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and his suffering and crucifixion. ⁠
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The very unique looking dalechampia (𝘋𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢) is native to the warm forests of Mexico. ⁠
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🦷In Dutch it's named 'tandpasta plant', because it smells of toothpaste! You can find its pink flowers alongside the path in our Tropical Greenhouse. ⁠
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This... may not be the prettiest flower you have ever seen, but it sure is interesting. You're looking at the 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢, or pelican flower. This deciduous vine - native to the Caribbean and Central America - has one of the world's largest flowers. ⁠
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🥩And these huge flowers bear an interesting trait: they smell of rotting meat. This is to attract insects and butterflies.⁠
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👃🏽Want to smell for yourself? It's right near the entrance of our Tropical Greenhouse! ⁠

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