"We bloom throughout the entire year" was the motto of German gardener, botanist, writer and philosopher Karl Foerster (1874-1970), lover of perennial plants, many of which have indeed long blooming periods. His first book "Winter-Hardy Perennial Plants" was published in 1911 and was followed by many publications throughout his life. As a gardener, Foerster bred 362 new species of aster, larksour, and grass. His greatest accomplishment was the botanical garden at Potsdam’s Friendship Island, founded in 1941.
The original garden was destroyed at the end of World War II and a new attempt in the 1960 fell victim to vandalism and was moved to a safer location but never really took off again.
In 1996, Potsdam was designated to host the 2001 Federal Horticulture Show. As part of the show, it was decided to restore Foerster’s work. In a Europe-wide search, 204 of Foerster’s 362 original plant creations were located and brought back to their original place, creating Germany’s largest garden of perennial plants. In addition to the perennial plant garden, there is now a rock garden and a water plant garden, covering a total of 17 acres and hosting a total of 1,200 plant species, making it Potsdam’s most popular inner city park.
How do you know it is a Botanical Garden?
Botanical Gardens are not only there for esthetical purposes but also serve science and education, and sometimes, well, there are more signs than plants:
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