Glimpse greenery in feast of flora at Bayreuth’s university botanical gardens

The color green is a bountiful symbol of health, balance, calm and rebirth, but as Germany’s gloomy season settles in, good luck finding much of it. 

Just try to “touch grass” when it’s buried beneath muck and mud. So on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I decided enough was enough and drove about 40 minutes north of the Army’s base in Grafenwoehr to the University of Bayreuth’s botanical garden, an indoor-outdoor oasis. 

I was honestly a bit underwhelmed when I stepped into the first greenhouse. The rain, combined with my failure to bring an umbrella, had restricted me to the indoors, and with winter not quite here, many of the plants in that area had yet to be moved inside.

Two locals explore the outdoor area of the University of Bayreuth Botanical Garden. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Children stand beside an indoor pond in a tropical area of the University of Bayreuth's Botanical Garden. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Pathways wind through the University of Bayreuth Botanical Garden’s interconnected greenhouses, which bring together plant life and ecosystems from around the world. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

A quick jaunt revealed desert flora, including aloe, cacti and even a tequila plant, lining the path.

Through a small art gallery, however, I was lucky to catch a rare sight featured that day: a Puya chilensis that was finally in bloom after growing for more than 39 years, longer than I’ve been alive.

The South American bromeliad is characterized by sharp spikes that protect it from herbivores. Its stalk stretched more than 10 feet into the air, topped with small orange blossoms that would be flowering for just a short time.

A vivarium inside one of the University of Bayreuth Botanical Garden’s greenhouses houses large plants, including a Puya chilensis, which can take decades to reach its first and only bloom. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

What came next, though, was far grander than I was prepared for: a sprawling tropical oasis, with plants towering overhead and greenery filling nearly every square inch of the massive greenhouse.

I’ve taken to owning quite a few houseplants recently, so getting to see some familiar favorites — monsteras, pothos, fiddle leaf figs, palms and more — thriving at a scale I could never replicate in my living room was jaw-dropping.

Around every turn was something recognizable. Pepper, avocado, coffee and passion fruit grew under the same roof alongside plants used to produce clothing and other everyday goods.

Then there were the things I certainly couldn’t fit in my apartment, including trees with leaves stretching larger than a car. 

Dense tropical greenery surrounds the walking paths inside one of the greenhouses at the University of Bayreuth’s Botanical Garden, creating an enclosed oasis of plants from around the world. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Ponds filled with lily pads and lotuses broke up the greenery, while small streams and waterfalls trickled alongside the paths. Flowers bloomed in colors and shapes I never expected, turning my walk into a bit of a hunt for the coolest bud. 

While the experience was educational for me, I can only imagine how much the university’s biology students have to learn from the sheer variety of plants from around the world. 

For an avid photographer, the garden also offered plenty of opportunities to practice capturing nature, from the smallest flowers to the enormous tropical leaves overhead.

The University of Bayreuth Botanical Garden is a free indoor and outdoor nature space that features plant life from around the world. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

The outdoor area of the Botanical Garden at the University of Bayreuth features several different types of trails, such as barefoot areas, or paths that lead visitors through plant life native to different regions of the world. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Plants stretch toward the ceiling and fill nearly every corner of one of the greenhouses at the University of Bayreuth’s Botanical Garden. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

By the time I left, I had found the dose of green I’d been looking for, despite missing out on the barefoot paths and acres of plant life in the gardens outside.

So in a way, I suppose I got to touch grass after all and now have something green to look forward to during the winter months ahead.

University of Bayreuth botanical gardens

Address: Universitaetsstrasse 30, Bayreuth, Germany 

Hours: Check website for seasonal hours. Outdoor area, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., weekends, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; indoor area, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Cost: Entrance is free

Information: www.obg.uni-bayreuth.de/en/