VISITING THE LAUSANNE BOTANICAL GARDEN
Small report of our visit to the Botanical Garden of the Swiss town, looking for cacti and succulents plants from all around the World.
Opened in 1824, the Botanical Garden of Lausanne is situated in the heart of the Swiss town, capital of the canton of Vaud, about 4 hours drive from Milan. It's almost completely dedicated to the preservation and protection of the Vaudois botanical collection: in the extensive grounds, as well as some specimen of carnivorous and tropical plants, are placed around 6000 alpine and medicinal plants, the true and big pride of this Garden.
Curiosing among the various greenhouses, we come across the small one dedicated to arid environments and, finally, we begin to see our beloved spines. The environment in which those cacti are standing immediately appears a little overlooked: nearly all the plants have been placed in the ground without being extracted from their pot and some of them are visibly suffering. The exhibition spaces are narrow, and even though a fairly accurate system of heating, ventilation and humidity control is running, the plants are in close contact with each other and many of them seem hardly breath. A glass case in front of the exhibition perimeter prevents the full use of space and the perception of the beauty of those specimens that are more rustic and able to adapt to the environment.
But, despite everything, we can still admire the beauty of the more vigorous and healthy specimens: the images document then a beautiful Agave filifera, a "wise" Mammillaria confusa, a classic Gymnocalycium saglione and above all a florid Hechtia texensis, among others old trees. A further demonstration, if ever needed, of the extraordinary adaptability of our beloved succulents in environmental conditions very different from their birthplace.
More information at:
Jardin Botanique de Lausanne
Montriond - Place de Milan
TL: Bus 1 and 25, stop Beauregard
ML: stop Délices
Free entry
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