Finding Our Special Tree in Mammutgarten Elstra, Germany

On May 15 this year, we visited Mammutgarten (Mammoth Garden) in Elstra, Germany, just about an hour’s drive from where we live. We went there mainly to buy a mammoth tree to plant in our garden.

Mammutgarten is much more than just a garden. It is a large and fascinating destination offering a variety of facilities and experiences, including garden design and landscaping, a plant center and store, an exclusive nursery, a cultural and theme park, an event and location park, a restaurant and café, camping and tent areas, a bistro and beer garden, and much more.

Mammutgarten brings together garden culture and design, a nursery and plant center, events and gastronomy, an organic market, and an amusement park—all in one place where visitors can explore, relax, enjoy, and stay.

It is like taking a botanical journey around the world, featuring rare and fascinating plants ranging from prehistoric species to plants found in our world today.

The plants you see in these photos are some of the beautiful plants they have for sale. They are not the mammoth trees we came to look for, but they were already quite large and impressive for ordinary plants.

They were fascinating to look at, especially because of the way they had been carefully shaped and grown into such unique forms. You could really see the time and effort that went into maintaining them.

The area we were walking through is one of the event locations, alongside other areas such as the bistro and beer garden. This particular section was quite spacious and had a Sahara-inspired theme. The sandy ground, scattered greenery, and different sizes of stones and rocks created a desert-like atmosphere.

Some areas were decorated with small and large rocks to enhance the scenery and complete the Sahara-inspired look. It was such an interesting combination of plants, landscaping, and themed surroundings.

These colorful flowers, along with many other varieties, are located in another garden area across the street, where they also sell mammoth trees and other types of plants.

As soon as you enter the store, you are greeted by rows of colorful flowers beautifully arranged in a garden-like display, creating an inviting atmosphere that can easily catch the attention of visitors and buyers.

They also sell fruit-bearing plants, including strawberries, banana plants, and many other varieties. However, there is one thing to keep in mind: the bigger and more mature the plant, the more expensive it tends to be.

For example, some of the larger plants like the beautiful red one in the photo can already cost more than €100.

Here is the entrance to Mammutgarten. Before exploring the garden, we stopped at the counter to pay the entrance fee. We also informed the staff that we were looking to buy a mammoth tree, so they could let the other staff members know in case we needed assistance carrying the plant.

However, we didn’t find the type of mammoth tree we were looking for in this section of the garden. We were then told that the plants were located in another garden area across the street, which also belongs to the same store.

So, our search for the perfect mammoth tree continued!

Here is the giant mammoth display, designed like an enormous inflatable floating in the air. It was secured with ropes attached to the ground to keep it from drifting away.

Since it was so huge—just like a real mammoth—my daughter got a little scared when she saw it for the first time. Hahaha!

As I mentioned earlier, Mammutgarten also has a theme park with several fun activities, including a giant trampoline, climbing frames, and a zipline for kids—and maybe even for adults too, because of course, we had to try it ourselves! Hahaha! 😄

There were also plenty of benches where visitors could sit and relax. We noticed a huge trampoline area with a water slide and a pool as well, but we decided not to try it because the weather was quite cold that day and we hadn’t brought any extra clothes.

We also spotted some rare and beautiful trees and plants used as decorations throughout the garden. One that caught our attention was the Yucca palm, which I believe originates from Mexico. These plants can be quite expensive, with some costing more than €600! We would actually love to have one of these beautiful plants in our front garden someday.

This tree, where my daughter is standing, is also a mammoth tree, I believe, but I’m not sure what it’s called.

Here is the inside entrance of the other garden area, where we found numerous flowering plants, banana trees, and other fruit-bearing plants. For me, the best part was seeing all the different kinds of flowers in so many beautiful colors. I would have loved to take some home for our own garden, but the prices made me think twice! 😅

So, we continued toward the back of the garden, where countless varieties of plants—and, most importantly, the mammoth trees we came looking for—were waiting for us. Hehe!

Near the entrance, there was also a restaurant and café where visitors could enjoy German food and, of course, a refreshing German beer! 🍺

We spent some time exploring the back garden, searching for the perfect mammoth tree. And as I mentioned earlier, the larger and more mature the plants are, the more expensive they become. So, we decided to look for one that was large and healthy enough to survive and grow well, but still reasonably priced.

Finally, we found one called the Chinese redwood, or dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). It is a fast-growing, deciduous conifer native to the damp river valleys of central China. The tree cost only €25, which we thought was a fair price for a good-sized young tree with plenty of room to grow in our garden.

Sadly, we didn’t get a photo of the tree we bought, but we are excited to watch it grow. Hopefully, it will become tall and magnificent someday—maybe even taller than our house! I’m already excited to see what the future holds for our little tree!

There were also some trampolines where kids could play, but unfortunately, the weather that day wasn’t ideal for outdoor activities. The children had to remove their shoes, and since it had rained earlier and the weather was quite cold, the trampoline surface was still wet.

My daughter played for a little while, but after just a few minutes, she started feeling cold, and her socks became wet from the damp surface. We ended up having to dry her socks in the car before continuing our visit. 😅

So, for those living in Germany, especially in Saxony, I would recommend visiting Mammutgarten during the warmer summer months. You’ll be able to enjoy the outdoor facilities much more when the weather is warm, dry, and sunny!

The park is complemented by a Mediterranean restaurant, a cultural orangery, a plant center, and an integrated organic market. In addition to regular tourist visits (with an entrance fee), the site regularly hosts seasonal large-scale events such as art and cultural events, spring festivals, and winter light installations.

It was a good experience overall, but the weather and timing were always a bit of a hindrance. For me, we could have enjoyed the surroundings even more if it hadn’t been so cold. My daughter could have spent more time on the trampoline if it hadn’t been wet, and we might have seen more visitors and enjoyed more of the ornamental plants if the weather had been sunny.

Despite these little challenges, we still had a pleasant time at Mammutgarten. Most importantly, we found the mammoth tree we had been looking for and were able to bring it home to plant in our garden. So, overall, I would say it was definitely worth the visit! 🌳😊