We made our first urban plant expedition in Lichtenberg today. Yesterday, Sara and I moved into the Lichtenberg Studios in Berlin where we are in residence this week. Our first order of business today was to explore the neighborhood on foot and see what kind of plants, parks, flower shops, green spaces and other urban nature we might find. Here are some of the things we saw, smelled, observed, tasted…
An enormous empty lot next covered with all kinds of creeping plants, bushes, and trees, from moss and Berlin’s native succulent Fette Henne to nettles, elderflower and hops.
A lone rosebush presided over the urban wilderness.
Next to some old underwear, there was a healthy arugula plant.
A clump of hops vines formed a little cave.
Nearby, a funny double-upholstered couch deteriorated among its thriving green neighbors.
Stinging nettles guarded the boundaries of the lot…
…where ivy camouflaged with colorful graffiti, a phenomenon we’ve noted before.
Along Schulze-Boysen-Straße we saw a passageway through a large apartment complex that was painstakingly covered in murals of colorful plants, flowers and mushrooms.
Near Anton-Saefkow-Platz we found a swath of grass regularly mown by two streetcars.
We saw a lone flowering tree on display in the sparse Victoria Center.
And a tree of heaven embracing “Berlin Dreamboys.”
Sadly, we didn’t catch any strawberry stands that were still open, but this one was enjoying the afternoon sun.
And everywhere it was “snowing” on this warm spring day.
That is, an unknown tree was releasing its white, parachuted seeds into the wind. The streets were filled with fluff.
We tracked it down to this tree, though we don’t know its name. We took a leaf sample and will do some research. Meanwhile, any suggestions for what we might do with a collection of seed-fluff?
This post was written and photographed collaboratively by Sara and Leslie.
I always thought it was the linden tree, as in “Unter den Linden.” I remember the “snow” my first time in Berlin.
Huh, I always thought it was poplars but it seems to be more than just one kind of tree contributing to the snowstorm! Maybe birches too? I will look up lindens.
Liebe Leslie,
hier ein Schneegruß aus 2010:
http://balkon-garten.blogspot.de/2010/06/ostkreuz.html
Viel Spaß am Freitag wünscht
Anke
Danke Anke für die Schneegrüße! Ich habe den alten Beitrag gerne wiedergelesen. Ja, damals, als wir noch den Garten hatten…
Huh, what a long walk! The tree is a Pappel. The wool has been called “native cotton”. You can look up “Pappelflaum”. Wikipedia says that the fibers have no nitrogen and are therefore hypoallergenic.
A great research wishes,
Marko
Ok, every seems to agree that the tree is a poplar. However, I thought poplars are really tall and skinny? The tree in the picture is shorter and rounder than the Pappel I know. Do they come in different shapes?