Katja

Bergius (ii)

16 Maybe what I like the most in the Bergius Botanic Garden is the herb, fruit and vegetable garden. That is not a very common feature in botanic garden contexts, the cultivated and non-ornamental. Showing the plants that we rely on for sustenance and that might be the clearest examples of what can come outContinue reading “Bergius (ii)”

rain

15 Oh, how I love the rain. The smell of it, in spring. After a month of none at all. A sigh of relief, from the wood anemones, budding roses, the birch outside my make-shift home office window with leaves just about to open. Thinking: Maybe this means we aren’t heading into another summer likeContinue reading “rain”

Copenhagen (i)

14 The University of Copenhagen Botanic Garden is a wonderfully calm place, with greenhouses, a pond and on a day in August 2013, people sitting on the grass, reading in the sunshine. If I lived in Copenhagen, this would definitely be one of my favorite spots in the city. To come here on a sunnyContinue reading “Copenhagen (i)”

gardening

13 I think I could enjoy having a garden of my own. I’ve recently become the co-tender of an allotment garden plot, so we’ll see how well I know myself. My Finnish grandmother was an amazing gardener, and the childhood memories I have of all the flowers in her garden border on fantastical. The liliesContinue reading “gardening”

Lyon (i)

12 For many years now, I’ve been riding trains across Europe, instead of flying. I like the slower pace of travel, and the opportunity it gives to explore places on the way to my destination. During the last couple of years, I’ve planned my train transits based on where there is an interesting-looking botanic garden.Continue reading “Lyon (i)”

geographies of belonging (i)

11 A while back, we read “Barmark” by Malin Nord in my book club, a novel about loss, legacy and belonging. It is painful and sad and during the club meeting we mostly spoke about how strong emotions can be carried down, from mother to daughter, in generations. But what I myself remember most strongly,Continue reading “geographies of belonging (i)”

the singer

10 Yesterday afternoon, while sitting in my make-shift home office, I heard someone singing through the open balcony door. My balcony faces a patch of pine, aspen and ash trees, and when I peeked out through the window I saw a girl walking around down there. She can’t have been older than thirteen, that awkwardContinue reading “the singer”

Lisbon (i)

9 Lisbon: It was clear that the Lisbon university botanical garden had seen better days when I visited in 2015. But also that it had seen many. Some of the trees were enormous, it was compact and quiet. It felt like a very old, wise, forgotten corner of the city, a place to go breatheContinue reading “Lisbon (i)”

Selma

8 This Easter I have been tending to my balcony. Replanting baby tomatoes, chilis and marigolds, planting seeds of nasturtium and wild strawberries. Making plans for wooden structures for the plants to grow in and up against. This home quarantine has turned me into an overly ambitious amateur carpenter and balcony gardener. Only time willContinue reading “Selma”

Oaxaca (i)

7 Oaxaca (i): I was so excited about the ethnobotanical garden when visiting Oaxaca for a conference in 2017. Ethnobotany has become one of my academic side interests, so I was enthusiastically looking forward to visiting this place. And then I arrived, and realised the only way to enter is to take a guided tour.Continue reading “Oaxaca (i)”