Berlin-Neukölln: Air plants at the Saturday market

Two surprises awaited me this past Saturday as I took a walk from Neukölln to Kreuzberg, getting acclimated in Berlin again after a week in the heat of Spain. First, I realized that one of my favorite greenmarkets, the “Turkish market” (held on Tuesdays and Fridays on Maybachufer), has spun off a third, Saturday market dedicated to fabrics and handcrafts. There, I was doubly surprised to find an airy, minimal stand in shades of dusty green and creamy white, offering an array of strange air plants with nary a root or speck of soil in sight.

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Berlin: ranunculus découpage

Kind of gross, kind of gorgeous. I left this red ranunculus blossom in a water glass on my office windowsill over the weekend. Today I found it had drunk all the water and stuck itself to the bottom of the glass in a surprising way. Beautiful decay? Or just slimy?

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Kyoto: Bathroom plant research

In a charming plant-themed café in northeastern Kyoto, even the bathroom sink was made of wood and adorned with a fresh hydrangea wreath and a rosemary sprig.

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Kyoto: All that I can see is another yuzu tree

My host in Kyoto has a yuzu tree in her garden. I have tree envy.

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Berlin: Potatoes jump the gun

Lurking in a dark cupboard in my office, I found some potatoes, forgotten by a colleague. These spuds apparently want to skip winter and jump directly to spring planting time. I can relate.

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Berlin: plant shows interest in US election

Berlin-based jade plant in American expatriate household showed sudden interest in US politics Wednesday morning, apparently celebrating Barack Obama’s re-election.

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Berlin: Orchids contemplate their shadow

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Berlin: Seedlings take over kitchen counter

Not all urban plants sprout up uninvited on the mean sidewalks of the city. Indeed, in Berlin, planting the balcony is a spring ritual for many. Those without balconies, like myself, have adopted bits of land in community gardens. It’s still too early for many plants to be planted outdoors, but seedlings are being started in apartments around the city.

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Berlin: Houseplant in holiday mode

If you are a person of patience, or need a reminder that time is cyclical, get a Christmas cactus. Like most flowering plants, it blooms but once a year. But how it blooms! In contrast to its usual compact, green, nondescript form, my plant dons so many bodacious red blossoms each December that it literally doubles in size. Thank you to Oma Uschi for giving us this plant four years ago. As you can see from this recent photo, it’s still going strong.

What about you, readers? Any of you have winter-blooming plants in your lives?

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Berlin: Autumn comes to a close, even indoors

Recently, I noticed that even my houseplant is losing leaves. As fall comes to a close, it seems to be happening in my apartment as well as outside. The Christmas season has arrived here too, meaning that our potted Norfolk Pine is having its annual star turn as a Christmas tree. It may look a bit odd, but it’s nice not to have to throw out a Christmas tree in January and the pine makes an amiable roommate during the rest of the year.

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