87 When the sun goes down on a December afternoon, the Edvard Anderson greenhouses shine like green oases in the icy darkness. To enter the middle house, being met by the Mediterranean smells, just breathing it it. Or the moisture in the tropical house, like a caress. And the darkness outside. Sitting in the palmContinue reading “Bergius (vi)”
Author Archives: Katja
Cambridge (ii)
86 Compared to other botanic gardens I’ve been to in the UK, the Cambridge University Botanic Garden is not large. But it has everything you need in a botanic garden, with that typical British eye for lush detail and secret nooks. And they even had a grass garden. Flower beds full of different kinds ofContinue reading “Cambridge (ii)”
Nitobe, Vancouver (i)
85 The Nitobe Memorial garden in Vancouver is a traditional Japanese garden, tucked in between a few ugly buildings and a small piece of forest with huge Douglas firs on the University of British Columbia campus. On a road nearby, there was quite a lot of traffic, but the moment I walked in through theContinue reading “Nitobe, Vancouver (i)”
Prague
84 The city has two botanic gardens. I only had time to visit the historic one, run by the Faculty of Science at Charles University, during my brief stay in the city in 2013. It was a lovely little green jewel, wedged in between the concentrated downtown city tangle on the east bank of theContinue reading “Prague”
Bergius (v)
83 God jul, hyvää joulua, merry X-mas, wherever you find yourself in the end of this the strangest of years. May your day be calm and joyful. The Edvard Anderson greenhouses in Bergius botanic garden change with the seasons. Maybe they do this in other botanic garden greenhouses as well. I wouldn’t know, as IContinue reading “Bergius (v)”
Portland (i)
82 One of the big tourist attractions in Portland is the International Rose Test Garden, a meticulously manicured garden with over 500 different rose varieties. It is cared for by the Portland Rose Society, a non-profit founded in 1889. Hanna and I went there on a rainy Monday morning in 2012, but I was soonContinue reading “Portland (i)”
Phoenix
81 One of the impressive things that Phoenix has to offer is the Desert Botanical Garden. And among the botanic gardens that I’ve collected over the years, this was something really special. I guess it’s part of my fascination for deserts. I just love succulents. During my visit in 2012, we realised it is reallyContinue reading “Phoenix”
winter solstice
80 Yesterday was the winter solstice. The longest night, of a year that to many of us has been heavy to carry. Natalia and I felt it needed to be properly celebrated, old school, with a mid-winter blot in the style of our Nordic ancestors – to allow for the new to replace the old,Continue reading “winter solstice”
train-travel
79 I’ve been thinking about train-travel a lot lately. Maybe because of all the people moving away, the friends who graduated but, because of this strange year, couldn’t get a proper send-off. And also, not being able to get on a train myself. I like train travel. The moments that can happen, in the waiting.Continue reading “train-travel”
Edmonton (i)
78 March 2012, afternoon. I’m sitting in the temperate pyramid greenhouse at the Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton’s botanical garden. It’s slightly cold, but with my Peruvian alpaca sweater I won’t freeze. The smell in here is heavenly, a combination of pine and herbs and the early blooming daffodils. And above me: An elk’s-horn fern growing onContinue reading “Edmonton (i)”
Katja Malmborg 