Gardening Group

Autumn has been spectacular in Switzerland this year. And the two final days out for the Gardening Group brought nothing but pleasure for the many loyal members.

In September, while the weather was still very warm, the group paid a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Zürich. Although part of the university, these gardens on the east side of town are open to the public all year round and are a wonderful place to enjoy lunch, have a picnic or spend an afternoon. Fourteen people gathered at the lower entrance and made their way up through the colourful borders filled with flowering shrubs. Although the plants are labelled, you don’t need to be an expert in Latin or German to recognise and enjoy their variety. Mediterranean plants, roses and rhododendrons, alpine plants, herbs and healing plants, meadow and water plants can all be discovered and enjoyed here.

The glasshouse plants are a particular feature of the gardens with their sub-tropical and tropical varieties such as angel’s trumpet and a mimosa which closes its leaves on touch. Of particular interest were the plants on the Swiss ‘watch list’ because they are poisonous or invasive, such as the Traubenkraut which causes an allergic reaction. We also enjoyed the many herb varieties such as chocolate basil and fragrant lemon lavender, and the numerous varieties of chilli. The vegetable plot was also interesting and well tended.
After exploring the gardens at length, we adjourned to the cafeteria for a well-earned drink and a pastry, and for once there were no wasps around to annoy us.

The final trip of the year, on a much colder day in October, was to the charming village of Osterfingen, which opens its gardens to the public every year as part of the Swiss Gartenpfad scheme. The drive there took us through a corner of Germany to the far north of Switzerland, where we convened at the Gasthaus and Weingut Bad Osterfingen; then twelve members and two dogs enjoyed the walk across the fields to the village entrance.
Osterfingen consists of one main street with houses and gardens open on either side, and the theme this year was chrysanthemums. We enjoyed spotting many typically Swiss displays of fruit and flowers outside the houses, and we could see into the gardens to note the fruiting quince trees and damsons which were just coming to an end. At the top of the village, we popped into the house of a Scherenschnitt artist who was keen to show off her fine work.

Then we were glad to get back into the warmth of the Gasthaus for a most enjoyable meal, featuring many types of meat dish; other than the hearty oat and vegetable soup, there was not a lot of choice for our vegetarian chairlady Heidi. However, the rest of us appreciated the nicely cooked, tender steaks together with a glass of the local Blauburgunder wine, the Osterfinger 2008, which was light and flowery.

The gardening group is going into hibernation now until next spring. Keep an eye on ZIWA News in the new year, and many thanks to chairladies Heidi and Helga for so many fascinating and rewarding trips with the group in 2009.

For more information, see these links:
www.bguz.uzh.ch/content
www.gartenpfad.osterfingen.ch

By Julia Newton, 29 October 2009

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