Lund, Sweden: winter in the botanical garden

Winter may not seem like the best time to visit a botanical garden. It’s cold, the trees look stark and leafless, and the smaller plants look, well, pathetic. But as I recently saw in Lund, Sweden, a garden in winter holds other other surprises…

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Hasselt, Belgium: the frosting on the lawn

Winter’s hit Europe. Snowy hurricane Xaver blew over Germany today, and over in Belgium, our creative co-conspirator Pablo Hannon documented frosted plants. The icing on the cake of winter.

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Berlin: Taking spring into his own hands

Snow is still on the ground a week after Easter. Most Berliners are busy complaining about the total absence of spring, but my neighbor Herr Mischke has taken matters into his own hands. On the mountain of old snow in front of his bookshop, Atlantis, he’s throwing this spring’s first garden party on the icy peak.

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Geografische Buchhandlung Atlantis is an independent bookshop ‘for reading travelers and traveling readers,’ with maps, travel guides, and general interest books (mostly in German). Karl-Marx-Allee 98, Berlin-Friedrichshain.

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Berlin-Neukölln: snowbound plants

A winter view from back in January, with a tropical plant and a gaggle of amaryllis  framed by windows, stuck inside by the winter snow. Today, the sun has melted the last of the snow away; Berliners – people and plants alike – are turning their faces towards the rare rays. It feels a little like spring, only the trees are still bare and, it being only the beginning of February, we know there could still be snowstorms and chilly days ahead.

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Berlin: For the birds

A friendly neighbor appears to have turned a leafless urban plant into a corn tree for hungry winter birds. Have you spotted any urban trees turned into bird feeders?

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Lichtenberg: snowbound sunflower

Off doing country village plant research for awhile. Found a sunflower in the snow. Wishing happy holidays to people and plants everywhere!

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Berlin: Mistletoe in a street tree

Saw a green sphere of mistletoe in a street tree in Friedrichshain today. The tree next to it was wearing a smaller cluster. Now all passers by who cross paths under these will have to kiss under the mistletoe.

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Brooklyn: Drainpipe tree revisited, frozen

This morning, I passed by the drainpipe tree on 17th St./5th Ave. that I had observed many times last summer. I was astonished yet again to find its foliage replaced by an array of spiky icicles!

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