The Netherlands offer large bulb flower ‘gardens’ in spring time. The country is known worldwide for its bulb cultivation. Hyacinths, tulips and daffodils are grown on long fields that colour the landscape like a piece of modern art. Most tourists head for the region where this flower industry once started, around the towns Hillegom and Lisse, […]
Europe
Green Paris is most lovable in the springtime
A lot of crooners sung the song ‘I love Paris in the springtime’. Actually, the lyrics are about Paris’ beauty all year round. But for green Paris lovers, spring is when it all starts. The chestnuts and paulownia’s are in bloom. On the squares, in the parks and along the quays of the Seine people are […]
Porto in early spring is about camellias and azulejos
I visited Porto in the third week of March. My ‘nature eye’ immediately spotted a flower that is celebrated throughout the whole town: the camellia. Till then, I thought that is a bit of a bourgeois flower. I know better now (read on)… And: I discovered some more joy for green lovers (read on too). […]
A dark sky hike is a true experience
Did you know that large parts of our world are suffering from light pollution? And that animals and human beings live a much healthier life when they experience a frequent dark night? For billions of years, all life has relied on Earth’s predictable rhythm of day and night. It’s encoded in the DNA of all […]
Urban Greeners share knowledge on a desert island
Along a highway, in the middle of an urban area of the Dutch city Almere, the Urban Greeners have found a desert island: Utopia. It is becoming the place where young entrepreneurs can explore, experiment, meet and share knowledge about how to live a green urban life. Now and in the future. There is a […]
Garden holiday in the French region Brittany
The French region Brittany is the one where it rains quite sometimes. Situated on a piece of land that stretches out in the Atlantic ocean, weather conditions are much alike the UK. So… that makes it a great place for gardeners. Did you know that Bretagne counts over 140 gardens? I visited two of them, […]
Soundblog: mindful echoes of the mountains
When visiting the Alps, I came across some sounds that are so mindful to me, that I recorded them for a short while. Listen to those mindful echoes! Those cow bells, what a typical mountain sound… A refreshing and soothing mountain stream, with the singing of birds in the background: Want to read […]
The majestic gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle
Imagine driving in northern Italy, with the high alp peaks in front of you. Behind them shines the famous vertiginous Timmelsjoch pass (2509 m) to Austria. In the valley below, lays a huge green paradise: Merano’s famous gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle. The botanical garden is nestled into a twelve-hectare amphitheatre with an altitude differential of […]
How the French spice up life with the ‘ville fleurie’
It started about 60 years ago, the French label of towns and villages in bloom – the so called ville fleurie. It now mobilizes almost a third of the French communes. More than 4.700 French towns have the label ‘ville fleurie’, which comes in a ranking from 1 to 4 flowers. As it started with the […]
Grand nature adventures in the Italian Alps
The Italian Alps have a stunning character. And the Dolomites are one of worlds most amazing mountain chains here. UNESCO has put them on the heritage list for a reason. It is an immense paradise for nature admirers. Go for a hike, take a bike, and enjoy the local dishes. The tourist board of the Italian […]