[plantsman50]

Hi,

I spent a couple of months last year (on and off) working on a technology transfer project in Cairo. During my days off I wandered around this fascinating city (dodging riots in Tahrir Square). This picture is of a nursery on the banks of the Nile on Zamelek Island (6th October bridge in the background). It was interesting for me to see what plants were available for Egyptians to buy and nice to see that all the plants were sold in handmade clay pots.

Martin

[Alisdair]

What an extraordinary sight, Martin - the Nile behind, then those towering buildings. Thanks for sharing with us!

[pamela]

I have also stayed on Zamalek a number of times. It's like an oasis in the middle of Cairo!  There some are interesting plantings around although I have never seen that nursery. Thanks for showing your photo.

[plantsman50]

Pamela,

I agree, compared to the rest of Cairo, Zamalek is an oasis of calm. I stay at the Marriott which has a nice garden area. I am due to go again in a few weeks, the sunshine will be welcome.

Martin

[david glen]

This is a fascinating photograph. The aesthetics reflect a very different economy to ours on the other side of the Sea, and I refer to commercial enterprises and not private gardens. This set me to wonder why we appear to have no "active" members (whom I know about) from North Africa.

[David Dickinson]

Thanks for the photo which takes me back to my days in Cairo when I lived there for a couple of years from 1992-94. The nurseries were very much the same then as now judging by your photo. Often small areas along the banks of the nile and also situated in the shade utilising space under flyovers away from the river. Having no garden or balcony in those days I didn't have any plants except a few house plants and the odd pot of "rihan" i.e. basil which I would buy from my local nursery. It had smallish, almost mint-like leaves, with purplish stems and leaf stalks. Nothing like the basil I now grow in Rome but wonderfully aromatic all the same.

Don't be fooled by the selection of plants on sale in these small nurseries - Cairo is (or at least was) a surprisingly green city with each residential block having its own garden tended by the "boab" (caretaker) full of ornamental trees and shrubs. So, even if there are no active members in north Africa, there are gardens aplenty in Cairo and tree lined streets too.

Wonderful memories brought back by your photo. Thanks again