The final preparations are being made for the opening of Hortus Overzee in Den Helder. The restaurant is swept and plants are on carts, ready to be rolled out. In the grass outside you can already see a flower here and there, but most of the color is still waiting for a while: “It was a cold spring.”
It should not spoil the fun for the employees of the Hortus. Board member Melany Tegelberg shows the Japanese garden. “Look,” she points. “You see lichen there. That only grows with clean air. Fortunately, we do have that in Den Helder.”
During a walk through the garden, she points to several buds on plants that have yet to come out. “It’s all a bit later than usual,” she says.
In the video, Tegelberg shows what is already in bloom and what is not yet. Text continues below video.
Hortus Overseas – NH News / Else van der Steeg
NH weatherman Jan Visser also sees that it was a wetter spring than previous years. “But not dramatically. It’s not an exceptionally cold April. That really warm weather of 20 degrees and more, that’s late this year. It varies from year to year.”
“Nature is so happy that after all those droughts it can finally recover a bit from the moisture,” he continues. “That’s the boost. If you look around you, you see that the real nature, the native plants, look very good. Grass grows like cabbage because of the rain.”
They don’t have to wait long in the Hortus for flowering. Visser: “This weekend it will be 15 to 18 degrees, then everything will come out again.”
Rain or shine, Tegelberg is ready for the opening. “I baked cakes and brought my bag with stuff for the tour.”