Pond and Water plant garden

Best time to visit: March to November

Pond

At the lowest point on the meadow is the artificially created pond, which is convincing because of its near-natural shore areas, which have been divided into different plant communities.
During planning, the subsoil had to be designed accordingly for the plant communities, because a calcareous sedge reed will not thrive on acidic soil, for example. A great many native and rare species were planted, such as the Lake Constance forget-me-not (Myosotis rehsteineri) or the Four leafe clover (Marsilea quadrifolia).
The pond has been listed as a "water body worthy of protection in the canton of Zurich". One of the reasons for this is the many animals that can be found here: Grass snakes, various frog and newt species or dragonflies, now and then a grey heron and rarely also a kingfisher can be observed.

Water plant garden

There are many special aquatic plants here: very small, but also rare species are planted, such as the Small Pond Rose (Nuphar pumila). In the basins you can admire the plants up close. The aquatic plant collection goes back to Prof. Dr. Christopher Cook, who was director of the Botanic Garden from 1968 to 2000.
The grids on the basins prevent ducks from using our precious greenery as food!

Barbara Bachmann (gardener):
"I take great pleasure in the Lake Constance forget-me-nots, which are threatened with extinction - I guard them like the apple of my eye!