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Stop 4 of 20

The perennials and the elm

Stop 4: The perennials and the elm — The Park Promenade, Kalmar, Sweden

The large perennial plantation was designed by one of Sweden's most famous landscape architects, Ulf Nordfjell. He is also internationally known — for example, he has won the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in England. The planting consists of 3,300 plants that take turns in flowering throughout the season. We are very proud to have one of his creations here!

Until the 1930s, the city's greenhouses were located here. They were then moved to Skälby. The white wall is from one of the greenhouses.

The elm from 1795 is the park's oldest tree, planted only 3 years after Gustav III was shot at the Masquerade Ball! We are grateful that it has survived the elm disease which resulted in taking down many elms in Kalmar and the rest of Sweden. It is gorgeous! And if you wonder what it has to say — think of the many people and events that have passed before the elm's eyes.

Good to know

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Extra background — not part of the original printed guide.

  • Ulf Nordfjell has won Best in Show at the Chelsea Flower Show, the highest honour in international garden design.
  • Most European elms of this age are gone: Dutch elm disease, a fungus spread by bark beetles, killed millions of trees across the continent during the 20th century.
  • Heated town greenhouses like the one whose wall survives here were how 19th-century parks produced their own bedding plants, often tens of thousands per season.

On to the next stop

Shall we wander on? Next up is the walnut tree. Look up as you walk — the canopy here is lovely.

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