The great and prosperous 1950’s USA cities are now, 70 years later, looking more often like this.
Decaying, falling down, not habitable. The big tree of hard working people, families and jobs that supports great and prosperous cities–cut down in its prime. Sad.
***
But what about cities that still thrive after centuries–like Tangier, Morocco? Check out Tangier Gardens for an inside look–the ebook is free at Smashwords.
Thank you.
Mimosa and narcissus.
Balancing, cleansing, energising, relaxing, uplifting…we can all do with some of that.
Acacia dealbata–it grows like a native in the northern third of Morocco; and, in spring, you can always find its cut flowers, fresh from the bled (countryside), being sold by Rif ladies in Tangier.
CJ reckoned when you get this close to a flower, it is because the flower has invited you. That invitation is the key that unlocks a portal–a paranormal portal.
Don’t believe me? Read his story, his take on plants in Tangier Gardens.
Tangier Gardens ebook is FREE TODAY.
Find out about the magic of plants and their flowers at the Hibiscus House.
This is a Tangier medina riad.
A small courtyard garden, as we in the USA would say. A garden surrounded by the house–your home.
In CJ’s view, it is an excellent, safe and intimate space to get close to plants.
Traditionally it is a practical place for edible plants, medicinal plants, fragrant plants, beautiful plants–and it doesn’t require much water. What’s wrong with that?
Want to learn more about CJ’s discoveries in Tangier riads?
Get Tangier Gardens.
Weaving culture with horticulture…
That is the beginning of the arcane magic that instructors introduce to students of landscape architecture.
But what happens when those students emerge into our contemporary real life dystopic world?
That is indeed what I wrote about in Tangier Gardens.
My ebook, Tangier Gardens, is FREE on Amazon TODAY.
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Just gotta do it!
Relieve summer boredom.
Hide from climate change.😉
FREE ebook, Tangier Gardens 11,12,13,14,15 August
Get it and like it!
Tangier Gardens ebook on Amazon will be FREE 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 August.
Get it and tell me about the fragrant flowers and cooling gardens.
Everybody wants it; but can health, good health be seen?
I’m not talking about humans.
This is about plants. And it is not a discussion about the definition of beauty or the definition of good health.
It is rather about what our eyes can observe. See a beautiful plant. See a beautiful flower. We are accustomed to those.
But something happened to me the other day on a walk. Our local weather has been good: sunshine, warmth and deep gentle rains. Locally, one finds in many home gardens well maintained topsoil–mulched with animal manures and dug in every year.
What does that mean? Healthy plant growth. And even with very common plants, their health shines. It captured my attention recently. My photo shows that. I hope you can see it.
Unusual perceptions of plants and their flowers? That is what CJ experienced for the first time in my book, Tangier Gardens. If you like plants and their flowers you will like CJ’s story.
Lime or linden?
I don’t go out looking for trees–but when I’m out sometimes they call me.
This year the Tilia trees’ blossoms came earlier than normal. It was my olfactory pleasure. I could not say no. The fragrance captured me. It made me smile.
An online search of Tilia spp., their floral fragrance and their teas can keep you busy a whole day. Bottom line? Tilia fragrance and perfumes, Tilia fragrance and teas…a deep and mystical appreciation by all involved. No one can describe with absolute certainty what is the amazing fragrance. So, I’ll tell a personal story.
There is a time after the glorious spring greens that a summer tedium green takes over all deciduous trees. Tedium green? That’s the summer green that makes all deciduous trees look the same. They all fade into a dark green, amorphic background.
This morning it began. Mature foliage on all deciduous trees had grown full size and darkened. It was working–each leaf a mini-plant-factory taking in the glorious sunshine and the CO2 to assure their health and ours.
Here is what I found in town. Unannounced, the nearest Tilia tree–its fragrance descended upon me. The tree was already a physical landmark. I realized it was also a sociological landmark, a local center for relaxation–soothing away anxieties. Its fragrance does that.
In other parts of town, people were climbing into the lower Tilia branches where they collected flowers. They took them home for drying to produce homemade herb tea known for its calming pleasure.
Look for your closest Tilia or lime or linden.
***
When CJ went to study local landmarks in the Moroccan towns (medinas), he learned things about landscapes and gardens they didn’t teach at university. Check out Tangier Gardens for a good read.
As it has for millennia…the fragrant rose…exudes a mellow sweetness that quietly and slowly penetrates the deepest corners of the heart and surreptitiously intoxicates…soothes all emotions.
Get close to a fragrant rose today. It is a free pleasure. Let that fragrance enter your being.
When CJ was in Morocco, it was not scent so much as the sights and sounds of the plants that entered his being and took him to places never talked about at university.
Primrose joy in the mountains.
At 2,000 meters above sea level, in the northern range of the Swiss Alps, I rediscovered the spring joy I had experienced three weeks ago, albeit at 500 meters above sea level. The glory of walking mountainous landscapes.
This joy can be discovered anytime, anywhere.
This is a similar joy to that Christopher Janus experiences in the Mediterranean gardens and landscape of Tangier, Morocco. For CJ it was both muse and adversary.
That is the story of Tangier Gardens.
