Visiting with your favorite deceased horticulturist

The redwood has embraced this gravestone.

This is an early start to thinking about this year's Días de los Muertos. Maybe these are thoughts you have when you take out the old tomatoes and start thinking about planting fava beans.

Last week our landscape drawing class had a field trip to the Mountain View Cemetery. On the way up the hill, Bryn and Robert and I had a conversation which, because we were in a cemetery, it was only slightly morbid. Where did we want to be parked when we are done with our earthly bodies?

Over the years of taking care of the older folks, I have decided that I want to be sprinkled about in some of my favorite mushroom hunting grounds. I'm hoping to hitch a ride up and down the xylem and phloem of a redwood until I settle into a ring of wood. That redwood might be long lived enough that I could spend some time there before being made into a fence or a mole den.

So that's what I said - I just want my folks (whoever they are at that time) to sprinkle me up and down the coastal forests. [and that includes some local ones which shall remain nameless]

The Undecidable Woods - Le Bois de Lauzelle

Le Bois de Lauzelle is located in Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium.
The trees may be beeches.
I will look through my pics to see if I can confirm.
Photo by M. Balk

When Little Bart was in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, she posted this picture of le Bois de Lauzelle on her blog. The photo of green trees and red forest floor immediately resonated with something that I had seen before. I pictured a horsewoman, gliding in and out of the trees, at least sort of, but in an odd way.

Illustrated Plant Nut picture

The original Illustrated Plant Nut picture was inspired by a sculpture called "De Zee" or "The Sea".  It is commonly known as Dikke Matilde (Thick Matilda) and is near Leopold Park in Ostende, Belgium. The artist is Georges Grard (1901-1984) who was influenced by Aristide Maillol, Charles Despiau, and Pierre Renoir.

Monumental Trees, World-wide, and especially in Belgium

Castle Bleu in Trooz

The Monumental Trees website tracks trees, world-wide, that are monumental in some way - the oldest, tallest, biggest, thickest. Anyone can add to their database. Giant sequoia seems to be a favorite.

You can find the monumental trees in Belgium. Listed are 1448 specimens of various species. And you can find Giant Sequoia trees that are growing in Belgium! Today there are 956 Sequoias listed. I had trouble clicking on the marker except when I was in the big map. Look at all of those trees! Indeed, the Castle of Dave has three specimens! Mammoetbomen! Not so often, do you see a castle with a Giant Sequoia. Or do you if you are looking outside of California?