A Walk Through Exotischer Garten in Stuttgart

Hello everyone. I would like to tell you about my visit to the Exotischer Garten in Stuttgart. I actually went here last spring, but I haven't had the chance to write the post until now. This place is actually an agricultural university and when we arrived, some magnolias were already in bloom. Frankly I was surprised to see so many of them. The white ones start blooming earlier. It was strange that there was no one around. I suppose it was because it was Monday when we went.

We entered the park. There were magnolia trees everywhere. Some had their Latin names displayed. There were also various types of pines and I think there was a yew tree as well. We started walking in the park. Bees were buzzing and the place smelled strongly of flowers, very intense. There was also a Spanish plane tree dating back to 1779. We took a walk, listening to the birds singing and enjoying the atmosphere.

As we moved forward, we came across various arborvitae. Just as I made a move toward a bush whose scent blew me away, a small magnolia appeared right in front of me. To be honest as I first approached here, I thought it would definitely have nothing in bloom. But our luck completely held up. Of course, since this is an agricultural university garden, every plant has a logic and a label. For instance, that bush smelling strongly like jasmine tea, Cupressus or cypress species, was really unbelievable. There is also a species they call Kehin Kirsche, something from the Kirsche cherry and Lonicera family. Its flowers give off an insanely intense scent. When you see people walking next to the giant plane trees, you understand the scale of the garden much better.

Then that magnificent sakura appeared before me. For me, though all blooming cherries count as sakura, but judging by the sign, this was a full cherry hybrid. It was famous for its short stemmed, massive light pink and semidouble flowers and they said it blooms very early. It was really a visual feast. As we went further we saw Helleborus Lenten rose, Spiraea japonica with fresh emerging leaves and a wonderful Prunus serrula Mahogany cherry with a trunk in chocolate pinktan tones. The bark color of the tree was so sweet that it almost competes with my hair color.

As we progressed along the route forsytias as the yellow heralds of spring, white blooming Pflaume plum or chery species and a literal Frühlingskirsche spring cherry parade greeted us. No lie I thought these were apricots or something from the beginning. Turns out they were all from the Prunus family.

In the upper parts of the park, there is a nice vantage point. Looking from here you can make out the Plieningen Church, which faced the window of the room where I once stayed for about a month and rang loudly in the mornings. I hadn't really liked the lower part of the park and the area around the Körsch river flowing below, but this upper line is a complete spring avenue. As we walked carefully so as not to step on the daisies, a giant stork appeared right in front of us. Almost knee high, even taller, feathery and quite an impressive thing. Seeing a stork from this close was a wonderful surprise.

The trunks of the trees along this line bear traces of storms and lightning. In fact the sign at the entrance of the avenue carries this not so cheerful warning. Entrance prohibited during storms, risk of death.

When we went up a bit further, the Plieningen vineyards and Stuttgart airport can be seen in the background. On the way there are molehills, field mushrooms and the monument of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna dating back to the Russian empire period. Sitting on the benches and watching the bluepurple spring flowers and daisies around is very enjoyable. Even though the wind blew a bit harsh, I couldn't help but capture this view. Going between the massive Thuja plicata arborvitae trees and watching those magnificent branches was a whole separate experience.

At the end of the walk our route brought us to Schloss Hohenheim, Hohenheim Palace. While walking in the inner courtyard of this historic building, which is used as a university building today, I learned that right behind it is a super fancy two star Michelin restaurant called Speisemeisterei. Founded in 1773 by Duke Karl, this historic place is known for its tasting menus, prices were around 240 euros or so. Stumbling upon such a prestigious restaurant in the midle of a stroll was the most interesting surprise of the day.

It was a wonderful spring walk accompanied by fresh floral scents, giant trees, a historic castle and plenty of sakura. If you happen to be in Stuttgart and want to spend a quiet day immersed in nature, Exotischer Garten should definitely be on your list.