The freedom of garden life

I've been working in the garden nearly every day this week after work. It's been very warm here, unusual for Oslo at this time of year, over 80 degrees Fahrenheit each day. Sunny and warm, perfect conditions for plant growth, but a bit exhausting to work in such weather. Our rescued rhododendron is now blooming (I cannot believe that our co-op complex had just tossed it onto the garbage heap--their loss), and last night I found a tiny bud in one cauliflower plant, but not in any of the others. My spinach plants have also taken off, and the corn plants and pumpkin plants are also doing well. I have learned something for next year already; I can plant a lot more vegetable plants than I did this year. I was afraid of crowding them, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. I've harvested a lot of rhubarb stalks already; my husband uses them in the smoothies we make each morning, and I will make pies and muffins with the remainder. The red currant bush is loaded with developing berries, and that will be an interesting harvest when that time comes. I've sown grass seed in some of the barren areas, but it seems that grass takes a while to grow, even though the package I bought said that I could see growth within four days. Highly doubtful.

The bird bath seems to be well-used by the birds, for bathing and pooping. I clean it out each evening when I am there and refill it with water. I rescued a honeybee from drowning in it the other day. I've made friends with the local cat who likes to frequent our garden (because of the bird bath, I'm guessing). He sneaks silently into the garden and makes his way toward the bird bath. I caught him the other night and he reacted the way cats react when you catch them doing something they know they shouldn't be doing--a bit startled and embarrassed.

There is a harmony in the garden that I like--between me and nature, first of all, but among the various insects, birds, and plant life. It's interesting to see the worms, ants, beetles, snails and slugs all move about at their own pace and in their 'habitats'. The natural order of things, without interference from man--that is a blessing and a lesson in how to leave the natural world alone. It carries on quite well without us. I am blessed to have this garden, but I want to coexist peacefully with all of the other creatures that live there, even the slugs, but we have been informed by the garden board that we must clear the garden of them, as they will destroy most vegetables they come across. I do it, but I must say that I don't enjoy doing it.

Being in the garden gives me a sense of peace and connection with nature that I haven't had in years, at least not in this way. I love being outdoors and always have, but I've been active in other ways--walking and biking. Gardening has given me a sense of freedom that I have longed for, for so many years--freedom from worrying and freedom from my computer. The hard work, the sweating, the dirt on my hands and knees and face, the tired back and stiff muscles are all worth it for the feeling I get when I enter the garden and when I leave it. I think about it during my workday and I want to be there. It's given me a purpose and a focus that I need now.

Here are some new photos:

red poppies

rhododendron in bloom

baby cauliflower?!

Daffodils and Happy Easter

Our Oslo neighborhood in springtime bloom

Still a bit of a chill in the air, especially in the evenings. But during the day, when the sun shines, there is the promise of summer. Oslo is in bloom, everywhere you turn. Our backyard boasts two cherry trees, four plum trees, as well as gooseberry, black currant, and red currant bushes, all of which are starting to bloom. And our co-op recently voted to allow residents to plant vegetables in crates that will be placed along the walls of the buildings in some places, for those who would like to do that. They will not replace the beautiful flowers though. Our neighborhood at large is in full bloom also. Enjoy the photos!

beautiful forsythia

forsythia and tulips outside our door

one of the plum trees in bloom

blooming trees along the Akerselva river

a meadow of cheery yellow dandelions

blooming trees

blooming cherry trees further up the road from where we live

a lovely evergreen tree

blooming roses indoors--a gift from my husband for our wedding anniversay

a blooming orchid indoors

The island of Gressholmen

This past Tuesday was another warm summer day in Oslo; blue skies with some clouds, even rather hazy toward the early evening. Perfect boating weather. My husband and I ended up out on the Oslo fjord for a few hours, first sailing past Tjuvholmen and Aker Brygge, then Rådhusplassen, and then around the island of Hovedøya where we sometimes end up if we’re in the mood for a really good seafood dinner. But this time we had taken dinner with us to eat on the boat—shrimp, a loaf of bread, and mayonnaise. We ended up docking at the guest marina on the small island of Gressholmen. It didn’t take the ducks and geese very long to discover that we had bread on the boat; they swam up to the boat to get some handouts shortly after we docked.

Gressholmen is a nature reserve with many types of wild flowers and plants; up until 2007 it was also home to thousands of rabbits, but they were unfortunately done away with so as to preserve the natural vegetation. The reason given for killing the rabbits was that they decimated the vegetation. I’m not sure this was the only reason, but who can argue with the nameless authorities and bureaucrats who make these decisions? The rabbits weren’t hurting anyone; in fact, they were one of the main attractions of the island. Cute, and tame enough so that they would hop right up to you as you walked along the island’s many narrow dirt paths. That happened to us any number of times. These days the island feels rather empty without them.

I took a lot of photos that evening, as the lighting and the weather were perfect. Some are of the island’s flower and plant life, some of the bird life, and one photo is of the summer restaurant, Gressholmen Kro (http://www.gressholmen.no/index.html), that we frequented much more often during the 1990s. It’s possible to get dinner here; we drank our after-dinner coffee here that evening, walking up from the boat to the kro and along the way stopping to look at the many wildflowers. And then back to the boat to greet more of the ever-present bird life.

Geese near the boat

Dirt path on the way to the restaurant, where we would often meet the rabbits when they were still alive

Wild rose bush

Wild rose

View of Oslo from Gressholmen

Wild roses

A twig that looked like a snake

Gressholmen Kro

Happy 17th of May to Norway

Today, May 17th, is Norway's Constitution Day and an official national holiday. In 1814, the Constitution of Norway, declaring Norway to be an independent nation, was signed on May 17th in the city of Eidsvoll. I've written a bit about the national holiday before; it is a day filled with celebrations of all kinds, from party breakfasts to parades to school events to barbecues to sit-down dinners. I don't think I've ever seen as many flags waving as fly on this day--on buses, taxis, balconies--overall.

And the Oslo downtown area around midday is packed with people all wanting to
see the parade that marches past the Royal Palace, where the King and Queen and other members of the royal family stand on the balcony and wave to the passing marchers. How they're dressed and what hats are worn (by the women and the men) are always commented upon in the media that day and the following day.

When I first came to Norway, my husband and I would often walk down into town to watch the parade, buy a hot-dog and an ice cream, and wander around for a few hours, especially if the weather was sunny and nice. It was always enjoyable to be among the groups of folk milling about. There was definitely a feeling of electricity and energy in the air. Nowadays we watch the parade on TV for a while, and then go out to eat an early dinner. This year, as in previous years, we will find our way to Morten's Kro, where the food (many traditional dishes) is always good. I wrote about Morten's Kro in this blog already three years ago (http://paulamdeangelis.blogspot.no/2010/05/independence-day.html).

All that's left is to wish my Norwegian family and friends a Happy 17th of May! I leave you with a photo of the flowers I bought yesterday--festive with their red, white and blue colors and a little flag ribbon, followed by a photo of the Norwegian flag that I found on internet.

One year later: impressions and reflections

Oslo is quiet today; there is an unusual stillness. I went for a long bike ride earlier and I could just feel the stillness. As though there is just an implicit understanding that today is a day for stillness and reflection, for remembering and honoring those men and women whose lives were so tragically lost last year in the senseless killings on 7/22.

Last year there was a sea of flowers in front of the Domkirke. There is talk in the newspapers that perhaps this will happen again this year, as people seem to be drawn to the church. It makes sense—that perhaps we seek to be present in places that offer comfort and understanding, and some kind of sense in the midst of all that doesn’t make sense. There will be a memorial concert later on tonight. I am not planning on attending, but many thousands of people are expected to participate. Perhaps I will watch it on TV.

The priest at mass this morning spoke about the importance of taking time in our daily lives to sit in silence and to reflect—to travel into ourselves as he put it—in order to be challenged by the questions that silence and reflection offer us. It makes sense to me. We cannot reflect on the things that happen around us and in our own lives, cannot deal with them adequately, without that solitude and reflection. Many people are afraid of solitude and time for reflection; such a needless fear. We learn to know ourselves that way, and that can only be a good thing.

How sad that only a few days ago, that Colorado experienced yet again a horrific shooting rampage in a movie theater, which killed and injured many people. How is it that this type of weaponry ends up in the hands of those who are hell-bent on destruction? What do gun-shop owners think when a young man comes in with a request for these types of automatic weapons? I’m just wondering. I am tired of hearing the often-repeated expression when these types of tragedies occur, that ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people’. It’s not true. Guns purchased legally by people who have a hate agenda, do kill people, and the automatic rifles that these murderers use kill many people in a very short time. I have a problem understanding that these types of guns could at all be used to hunt animals. God help the animals, is all I can say. And God help us all if we continue to permit these guns to be sold legally. I know the argument goes that if such gun sales are made illegal, that young men like Anders Behring Breivik and James Holmes will get a hold of them anyway. But you know what, maybe they wouldn’t have--maybe they would have encountered many more obstacles along the way, and maybe the tragedies could have been prevented. I’m just wondering. And hoping for change to the guns laws.

Tiergarten in Berlin

Tiergarten, a large public park in Berlin, is translated as ’animal garden’ because it was originally designed as a hunting area for the king in the 1500s. At present, it is a lovely urban park for the citizens of Berlin, and about the only (visible) animals that frequent the park are rabbits. In fact, there are so many rabbits (and apparently they are so destructive to the flower gardens in the park) that several of the park’s small gardens are closed off with barriers to both the public and the rabbits. When we were walking around in Tiergarten recently, I noticed mounds of earth here and there, and wondered what they were. Now I know. Rabbits are energetic little creatures, God love them, but their activities are destructive to flower and vegetable gardens. I wonder if the barriers do manage to keep the rabbits out. The flower gardens appeared to be in good shape, so perhaps the barriers are working. But for how long?

Tiergarten is well-described on Wikipedia at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fer_Tiergarten, so I won’t include much more in the way of descriptions in this post. I am posting some photos I took in the garden. The day we were there was a hot sweltering summer day, and the sunlight was very strong. The photos have an unusual, almost shimmering look to them—you know it’s summertime when you take a close look at them. But the heat wasn’t unbearable, and it was in fact nice to walk in the shadows of the many trees in the garden. 

Some photos from the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam

A few more photos from the Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden) in Amsterdam, where we spent a very pleasant afternoon. It is well-worth seeing, especially the Butterfly House. Check out the photo with the butterfly with eyespots, called an Owl butterfly according to what I saw on internet--way cool. Enjoy!

Butterfly with eyespots, an Owl butterfly

Oslo's Botanical Garden

I thought I would write a short post today about the Botanical Garden in Oslo http://www.nhm.uio.no/english/visiting-nhm/botanical-garden/.  I was there the other night to join an organized tour of the Rock Garden (Fjellhagen), which is a collection of mountain plants from all over the world. The flowering season for these plants peaks in May and June. The tour was led by one of the gardeners who works at the Garden; he was very knowledgeable and could tell us a lot about the different plants we were looking at. After the tour, I walked around the Garden for quite a while, taking pictures and just breathing in the serenity and beauty of the place. I have been to the Garden once or twice before, but that was a long time ago when I first moved to Oslo. I enjoy visiting the Botanical Gardens in the different cities I have traveled to—London, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Amsterdam, and many others, including the Botanical Garden in the Bronx (when I lived there in the 1980s). I was talking to my friend Jean the other night and we decided to re-visit the Bronx Botanical Garden in the summer when I visit NY. It was always an enjoyable time to walk around there. Botanical gardens generally are peaceful oases in the middle of bustling cities, no matter where I’ve been, and each time I visit a garden I think how nice it would be to work there.

So the other night in Oslo, I enjoyed my Garden walk. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was shining, the air was warm, and it was a perfect evening to be outdoors. I am posting some photos I took on my walk around the Garden. Enjoy!