I've been meaning to tell you about my visit to Vienna's Schonbrunn Palace gardens, which my husband and I wandered through in June. What an amazing place!
This gives you a feel for the scale of the gardens!
Looking toward the back side of the Palace.
Front of Schonbrunn Palace.
Schonbrunn Palace was the summer home of the Habsburgs, who ruled Austria for several centuries. We did take a tour of some of the opulently-decorated rooms in the palace, but as a garden aficionado, I particularly enjoyed strolling through the immense gardens there.
As you can see by some of these photos, they are spread out and are definitely on a more grand scale than the gardens you and I are tending!
While standing on the steps behind the palace, I could take in views of the allees of clipped hedges, fountains, formal gardens and so on.
It was interesting to discover that, because most of the grounds are open to the public, local residents took their exercise there. We continually saw folks jogging or doing Nordic-walking (with trekking poles). Wouldn't it be amazing to do your exercises in a place like that?!
My favorite area of the gardens at Schonbrunn was the Palmhouse. Talk about a gorgeous structure! There are three main areas inside that housed plants from the Mediterranean, the tropics and colder regions. I tried to last as long as I could while in the "warm room" but the heat and humidity shortened my stay.
Here's another photo from the Palmhouse. Remember that you can click on any of the photos to view a larger image.
Palmhouse interior.
As we strolled through the many allees, we discovered how the staff was keeping the huge hedges clipped so neatly (see photo to right). Here's the equipment they use so they can reach all levels of the hedges. Shouldn't every gardener have something like this for their pruning chores?
While admission to most of the grounds is free, they do charge a fee to enter the Palmhouse, Orangerie and Desert House. When you first arrive at Schonbrunn, be sure to study the various ticketing options as there are package deals; it all depends on how many things you want to see while you're there.
What a delightful visit we had. If you're ever in Vienna, the gardens at Schonbrunn are definitely worth exploring.
