Bergianska trädgården in Stockholm

Bergius (viii)

132 Compared to other botanic gardens, like Kew in London or Meise outside of Brussels, the Bergius garden is not big. But somehow, they have still managed to divide it into several distinctly different parts, sections with such completely different characteristics. There are the flowerbeds with garden flowers, the sections representing different more or lessContinue reading “Bergius (viii)”

Bergius (vii)

102 The last snow is melting. We got a month. On my run in the forest today, it was so strange, I saw a fly. In the shadows under the trees, the ground is still covered in melting snow. And there: a fly. It must be so confused. But I did enjoy the snow, whileContinue reading “Bergius (vii)”

Bergius (vi)

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)”

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)”

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”

words of botany (iii)

60 Many things have been said about gardens. Among them, that they are an example of how humans have tried to control and manage our natural surroundings. A way to enjoy the beauty of plants, without having to engage with the chaos and unpredictability that comes with any “naturally” evolving ecosystems. In some ways, IContinue reading “words of botany (iii)”

cognition (i & ii)

52 & 53 In August, while weeding among the kale on the allotment garden, I listened to a radio essay about hiking. The journalist referred to a cognitive science researcher who had said that research indicates that our ability for abstract thinking increases in places with open vistas, like mountains or by the ocean. AsContinue reading “cognition (i & ii)”

Bergius (iv)

51 During the summer months, the small Victoria greenhouse down by the water in the Bergius Botanic Garden is also open. It is tiny, completely taken up by a circular pool with Victoria water lilies, and a small selection of other tropical plants surrounding it. It is really pretty. Photo: Inside the Victoria greenhouse inContinue reading “Bergius (iv)”

Swedish ethnobotany (viii)

28 [Elder / Fläder (S) / Sambucus nigra] Elder was Freya’s (Nordic tradition) and Holda’s (Germanic tradition) plant, and it was the protective tree of households and women’s crafts. It guarded against witches and other evil magic, and was often planted around the house for protection – although the potency of the tree became strongestContinue reading “Swedish ethnobotany (viii)”

Swedish ethnobotany (vii)

27 [Norwegian angelica / Fjällkvanne (S) / Angelica archangelica] The story tells that during the Black Plague in medieval Europe, a monk in a Swedish monastery had a dream. In this dream, an archangel came to him and said that the Norwegian angelica wards off all evil, and that he should use it to cureContinue reading “Swedish ethnobotany (vii)”