Columbine (Aquilegia)
Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum)
When we were in Basel we went to the University of Basel Botanical Garden.
It goes as far back as 1589, making it one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world.
Everything there was identified, so this part of the page was easy for me, let's get started.
Heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Common bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)
Purple gromwel (Aegonychon purpurocaeruleum)
Sweet iris (Iris pallida)
King's spear (Asphodeline lutea)
Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
Rhubarb (reheum alticum)
Rock Candytuft (Iberius saxitilis)
Chinese Lantern (Abutilon megapotamicum)
Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum)
Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
Big Leaf Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus)
Oriental poppy (Papaver orientalis)
A rock garden along the path to the greenhouses
A grouping of plants in the first greenhouse we visited.
Close-ups of several of them.
Welwitschia also known as a Tree tumbo (Welwitschia mirabilis). It can live for 3000 years.
The large succulent is a Karasburg Coral Aloe (Aloe striata ssp. karasbergensis)
Here are several that were close enough to their identifying plaques to fit it in their picture.
Including a couple that were hard to tell from the gravel around them.
The plaque identified this as Huernia hystrix var. little girl, however the flower doesn't match with that on the web.
And most annoying is that there are way too many little purple flowers for me to get a more accurate name.
Another bed of thorns.
Another that identifies itself.
Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii)
With Linda for scale.
Tower of jewels or Red bugloss (Echium wildpretii)
Grey-leaf cistus or white-leaf rock rose (Cistus albidus)
The plaque said this was an Asphodelus albus which it definitely is not.
It is probably Mediterranean spurge (Euphorbia characias)
Giant waterlily (Victoria amazonica)
Bird of paradise flower (Strelitzia reginae)
This Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is certainly the largest plant in the garden.
It has been reported to be as much as 60 meters (197 ft.) tall.
There were many more specimens int the garden but we wanted to see more of the city of Basel.
These were down by the river where we would board our cruse.
Curry plant (Helichrysum italicum)
Herb robert (Geranium robertianum)
Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver's broom (Spartium junceum)
Arabian milfoil; English: Yellow Milfoil, or Bieberstein's Milfoil (Achillea arabica)
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia)
On to the Black Forest
Early Dog-violet (Viola reichenbachiana) we saw along the trail.
The next few plants were in a garden near the shops at the Ravenna gorge
Wild cherry (Prunus avium)
Allium, one of the 850 species. I have no idea which one.
European Cornsalad (Valerianella locusta)
The next few were growing wild nearby.
Common daisy (Bellis perennis)
Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus)
Did you ever put a buttercup under someone's chin to see if they like butter?
Cuckoo flower(Cardamine pratensis) also known as Wiesenschaumkraut, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids
Wood strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Common dandelion (Taraxacum campylodes)
The seed fluff (technically a pappus) was wet from the rain and so not so fluffy.
Red campion (Silene dioica)
A planter at a restaurant in Colmar
With (l to r) English Daisy (bellis perennis), Persian buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus), and Common daisy (Bellis perennis)
Many Colmar trees were trimmed like this.
This is done to limit how tall they get so in the event of a storm they don't pose a threat to anything near them.
It also provides an easy nesting place for the storks that are common.
And on to Strasbourg
Cranberry bush (Viburnum trilobum) is a species of Viburnum native to northern North America
European elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is native to most of Europe.
Other common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder
Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa) IUCN Red List critically endangered plant species that is threatened by habitat destruction in its native range
But also listed as invasive in many other areas.
Red horse-chestnut (Aesculus × carnea) is an artificial hybrid between A. pavia (red buckeye) and A. hippocastanum (horse-chestnut)
Rose Eden Climber on the outside of a home along a sidewalk along a canal
Next we continued down the river to Speyer
Bigroot geranium (Geranium Macrorrhizum) also known as Bulgarian geranium, and rock crane's-bill.
Bergenia (Bergenia crassifolia) Also known as Leather Bergenia, Pigsqueak, Siberian Tea, Winter blooming bergenia
Within the Marksburg Castle we found tiny flower and kitchen gardens.
Go to the Castles web page to see those pictures but here are a couple.
The yellow ones are Creeping Zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens)
The white ones are Ornamental Bacopa (Chaenostoma cordatum) also known as Snöflinga, Herzblättrige Schneeflockenblume, Snowstorm
Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) also known as Roberts geranium, is a common species of cranesbill
When we got to Cologne we found
Germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) bird's-eye speedwell, or cat's eyes is in the plantain family
In Kinderdjike this was growing near the windmill we visited
It is mountain clematis (Clematis montana) also known as Himalayan clematis or anemone clematis, it is in the buttercup family.
And on to Ampsterdam
And there of course you expect tulips.
We were close to the end of the season so they had all been cut from the fields that were grown for bulbs.
But here are a few that were at the zoo.
That is where we found these Poppies
And morning glories.
Thanks for visiting.
For more flowers from around the world click HERE
