To me this may just be the most beautiful place in the world: my mother’s flower garden (Der Blumengarten meiner Mutter) in the Haseldorfer Marsch (seen in week 19), just outside of Hamburg. And when I say my mother’s flower garden, I shouldn’t underestimate that my dad also gets involved and that this really is our family garden, which is why I’m always so happy to be there. It’s such a lovely, peaceful feeling of being home when I walk through this garden or sit on one of several terraces or benches. But it’s really my mother who tends to the flowers year in, year out.
It was wonderful to visit for a few days this past week and I wish I could have stayed much longer and have a real countryside vacation. But I’m getting ready to return to the states, and there is still so much to do! One thing on the list was to finally make this video, which I’ve had in the planning ever since the first In A Berlin Minute video, which showed you a glimpse of the garden in May.
Next is a 3-year anniversary party for this web series (really 3 years and almost 3 months). So if you’re in Berlin, please join me on Sunday, August 4th, at 8mm Bar – and meet me and each other. More information can be found in the FB invitation: https://www.facebook.com/events/691072940919474/
This video was another case where it was difficult to choose the shots because there were so many. I aim to make a longer slower version one of these days…
The song is called “Urban Hospital” by my friend Thimo Sander, who is a musical wizard playing in all kinds of bands, including Four Dollar Wine with my husband Scott Solary. I wasn’t sure if this song was a bit too sad for such cheery summer flowers. (I should note that the birds and bees you hear are from the original video recording.)
The song’s title expresses the opposite of what this video shows. But I’m thinking of my friends who have recently been spending time in hospitals and similar places and with sick and injured people, like Digi, Erik, Pete, Wilfried, Ellie and Jim – and I’m hoping a minute of flowers will bring all of them a little bit of joy.
The flowers in order of appearance:
A few of the backyard with: the white Aspirin Rose in the background
Rose de Resht (One of the oldest roses. It was found in a pastor’s garden in Germany.)
Sunflower (It grew randomly out of bird feed my mom had put out in the winter)
Geisha Rose, Rose de Resht, Bonica Rose, Leonardo da Vinci Rose, Aspirin Rose
Lavender with a Small White butterfly (Pieris rapae – Kohlweissling)
Cleome (Spinnenblume – Spider Flower)
Monarda Didyma (crimson beebalm, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Oswego tea, or bergamot) (German: Indianernessel, Goldmelisse oder Scharlach-Monarde) and Spirea
European Peacock butterfly (Tagpfauenauge) – I didn’t catch the name of the rose.
Delphinium or Larkspur (Rittersporn)
Red Poppy (Klatschmohn) – One of my favorite flowers!
Didn’t catch the name for this one. Will fill it in later.
Small Malva (Kleine Malve) and Achillea (Schafsgarbe)
Agapanthus (Schmucklilie) – A Mediterranean plant I remember well from our trip to Brittany in 2001
Uetersen Cloister Rose (Uetersener Klosterrose) – Uetersen is the little town nearby, which has an old convent and is known as the Rose City
Hollyhock or Alcea Rosea (Stockrose, Stockmalve, Pappelrose oder Bauernrose)
Great Masterwort or Astrantia Major (Grosse Sterndolde) and Allium
A bunch of flowers in the front yard. The tall red one is called Crocosmia or Montbretia.
Will have to get the name of this flower from my mom again.
Same goes for the next one…
… and for the big pink rose…
… and this one.
Bellflower or Campanula (Glockenblume) and in the background Hydrengea (Hortensie)
A rose growing up the plum tree. (I had to leave out all the shots of fruits on the trees. They will be in the longer video.)
I’ll have to check on the correct name of the lily and the water lilies (Seerose) at the end.
In the next few days I will publish a post on my personal blog with photos from the garden with all the flowers’ names.
I’m sure you didn’t fail to notice all the bumble bees, bees and butterflies. And yes, I did get stung by a bee in the process. It was worth it.
