Reader photos from Aarhus, Denmark

Photos taken by Marko Förstel, 29-31 October 2008

Lately, I’ve been asking myself what the point of Urban Plant Research is, or what we hope to achieve with the project. I wasn’t coming up with very definite answers, but I guess you could say that we’re not hoping to establish how special and artistic we are by by noticing these odd plants in everday places, but to the contrary, to show that everyone who opens their eyes can discover wacky plants in their own neighborhoods or wherever they might find themselves.

So I was quite happy when my boyfriend and loyal Urban Plant Research reader Marko Förstel came back from a short trip to Aarhus, Denmark saying that the city was filled with plants that fit right into the project. Here are some of his pictures.

Above, a vine and a row of hinged bike racks form a mesmerizing graphic composition on a brick wall.

This brick behemoth housing the city library would probably look pretty dismal and fortress-like, if not for the lovely splotch of ivy. 

This may look like a lifeless cement box pocked with a lone bush…

…but apparently, the landlord thinks it’s a garden.

And here’s a wild garden in mid-air. 

To our other readers: please do send us your own plant discoveries! And I will also take this opportunity to point out that comments and discussion are very welcome, in both German and English – though the blog is written in English, we have many German-speaking readers and a bilingual dialogue would be great!

Of particular interest would be plant identification help – I know there are trained gardeners and horticulturists among our readers, so if you recognize a plant and want to share a bit about the species, please do. General questions, reactions and feedback would be wonderful as well.