Between the trees in the street garden beds which is thick with a low spreading plant I don’t recognise smaller bushes have been planted, chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia. Below me there are two. I notice one has flowers, the other not. Days later tiny dots of white are sprinkled over the one not flowering, like confetti.… Continue reading Chokeberry
Category: Zone 2
International citizens
The much maligned dandelion must come from somewhere… Taraxacum officinale is the most international citizen, the greatest transgressor of borders, (which we know are abstract and arbitrary) and so I seek them in the thick uncut grass on the street verges and in the unkempt front gardens and parks. When I see the bright yellow… Continue reading International citizens
Biodiversity
Field flowers allowed to grow! Oh, for the death of the ‘prefect’ monoculture lawn. Who indoctrinated us to think that a single species grass lawn was a high point of gardening prowess? I could be suspicious of all the companies that benefit from the sale of tools, chemicals etc. that aid the avid lawn lover… Continue reading Biodiversity
Castanea sativa
The chestnut trees grab my attention. They are flowering and have the most striking spikes of flowers— like ice creams held aloft. The white variety is most common. But there is a pink one too. They have been planted as street trees. The chestnut is native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor. Are we too… Continue reading Castanea sativa
Up with the birds
In Bremen, Germany staying in an apartment on the 5th floor I look out at trees. There is a strip of parkland which runs both sides of a ‘moat’ built by Napoleon. The park is called the Wallanlagen. Oaks, chestnuts, linden and birches line the banks and street. The water, which seems still but is… Continue reading Up with the birds