Plant vines

This February Slovenian capital Ljubljana was named European Green Capital for this year.

The European Commission has so far awarded this title to Stockholm, Hamburg, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nantes, Copenhagen, and Bristol last year, while Essen and Nijmegen will follow in the years to come.

If you grow up in a green city like this, you don’t even know what you’ve got. Now I’m always surprised by its greenness when I return, except for New Year’s when it’s vice versa: I can’t believe how can anything be as green in January when I leave snowy Slovenia to return home, to Tuscany.

Of course it’s not just the visible greenery that wins an award like this but also waste management, transport arrangement and other environment-friendly tactics. The city has decided to celebrate the award by placing a large amount of potted plants all over the city. Here are some of them and a few other scenes from the greenest piece of Europe, taken in summertime (and one in January).

Let’s just assume that the reason for all the greenness is not this:

A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.
—Frank Lloyd Wright

(Quotation reblogged from Andy Townend.)

The centre of Ljubljana, in case you forget where you are.

Amore is overgreened.

This installation is just in front of Ljubljana Town Hall. I loved it.

I took these in June but in August didn’t return to see how they are doing in the heat.

I’m sure they are well taken care of.

As I hope for this rosemary in another location. One looks a little brown already.

Did somebody say “door”? Yes, but we must hurry, the cake is melting. (Or somebody is fed up with my door craze!)

Ljubljanica river is green too.

Even in the winter green is pushing through.

One of the coolest summer hang-outs: Jazz Club Gajo’s summer garden.

Where sisters and friends grow.

An ordinary bush made less ordinary.

Jazz Gajo’s kids corner.

Hologram of Europe, an installation that’s not new but I never really studied it before.

As I’ve always suspected, Ljubljana is in the major intersection of everything. Or as Roza once claimed in his theatre performance: “We are the nation on the best location.” Surprised to see “our” Monta Amiata among the featured mountains. (which “embody the masculine principle of the continent”).

Well played, Commission! And they never even visited our garden (except one EC official).

Or saw my fir tree growing there which is the same age as me.

Photo: a © signature mmm production