I live near the Amsterdam Botanic Gardens, a beautiful pocket-handkerchief of green in the heart of the city. Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam as it is officially known, has recreated the original Snippendaal garden. It was originally a place where in the 17th century local doctors and […]

Which came first, Bogart or the books? I really can’t remember, but Raymond Chandler has been a fixture in my life since I was a teenager. The 1970s British paperback of his novel The Big Sleep (first published in 1939) featured a still from Howard […]

  SOCIAL BOTANY   politics is the authoritative allocation of values in society David Easton   Our nasturtiums, jalapeños, radishes would morph more savory were politics master gardening. Patient curious egos know temperate watering, care with weeds and pests, fertilizers, how best to harvest our […]

A Marigold of Mother As far as I recall, my mother has been planting tagetes [marigold] every Summer in Sardinia. On top of the cupboard, there is a little jar full of their seeds. I can picture her reaching for them, early in the morning […]

Hypatica nobilis syn. Anemone hepatica En härlig vårdag i april, solen skiner och snön har precis smällt bort. Vi tar oss ut till barndomens blåsipps-backar – dessa som brukar vara blåa av sippor – och mycket riktigt, så även denna vårdag. En yster liten vårbäck slingrar […]

“A Genealogy, Mostly Plants” By Pamela Banting I was born and raised in a place that takes its name from its trees. The name of the village in central northwestern Manitoba is the direct translation of the Swampy Cree name for the area, Wuskwi Sipihk, […]

To live in Sweden in May is to experience a veritable explosion of blooms: with nearly 20 hours of sunlight, each day something new is blooming while something else fades away. Yesterday this bright pink plant caught my attention because it so resembled the Western […]

What struck you about this plant? — This plant captured my attention because it’s yellow and I like yellow. Where did you find this plant? — This plant was growing in my Nonna’s garden.Does the plant remind you of something or someone? — This plant […]