Horticulture and flower arranging

A greenhouse complete with lean-to roof, cold frames and gardener’s tool shed all make up the Weidmann nursery ensemble from Rechtenbach near Wetzlar, which is home to a permanent exhibition in the Hessenpark Open Air Museum. Standing right at the start of the Central Hesse Ensemble, the nursery offers a broad introduction to the complex history of horticulture over the past 100 years. As well as some of the original furnishings of the 1957 “connector”-greenhouse and a whole host of exhibits, the biography of the Weidmann family’s nursery for flowers and ornamental plants is used an example to illustrate how horticulture and its many spheres of work developed over this period. The gardening profession and its tools are also explained in this manner, as well as floristry, gardening for cemeteries, growing fruit and vegetables, modern horticultural businesses and preserving biodiversity.
There is also the chance to learn why businesses like the Weidmann nursery have disappeared from most villages and what horticultural developments have to do with topical issues such as the loss of biodiversity. For anyone willing to learn or test their own knowledge, there are hidden picture games to discover both pests and beneficial insects, as well as a flower matching game for young and old alike. Those more into technology have the chance to explore how gravity-fed heating works or to examine old gardening tools.