[Hilary]

Cyclamen europaeum

The last stamp in the series issued by Tunisia in 1980

Cylamen europaeum is a synonym for Cyclamen purpurascens

Looking for references to this plant in Tunisia I came across this website
http://www.cyclamen.org/plants/species/cyclamen-africanum/

I copied the photo of cyclamen leaves from
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN SOCIETY’s Face Book page.

To read all about growing Cyclamen go to
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN issue 76, April 2014 and read A CYCLAMEN NURSERY IN ENGLAND by Helena Wiesner.

The cover drawing of the journal is of the varied markings of Cyclamen hederifolium leaves by Marjorie Holmes.   

[Hilary]

Paeonia banatica

A stamp issued by Hungary in 1971

I found some information about this plant on The Red List here
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/162451/0

There is a reference to Paeonia officinalis mentioned in a list of lower growing plants in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 3, 1995/6.
Read HOME GROWN VARIETIES by Derek Toms

There is also a reference to Paeonia officinalis here in the Forum
http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=1720.msg11950#msg11950

[Hilary]

Arbutus andrachne, Strawberry Tree

A stamp issued in a three stamp series named
 THE TREES OF THE HOLY LAND, by Israel in 1981

There is always a crowd having their photos taken in Puerta del Sol in Madrid in front of the

“bronze statue of the symbol of Madrid – a bear reaching for the fruit of a madrono [strawberry tree].”

  Here is a photo of the statue of the  tree and the bear.

Arbutus andrachne is mentioned by Marjorie Holmes in her article
A WINTER GARDEN
 in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 39, January  2005

[Hilary]

Aquila chrysaetos, Golden Eagle

The last stamp in the series issued by Tunisia in 1980

All you might want to know about the Golden Eagle can be found here
http://eol.org/pages/1049119/details

For Eagles I had the choice of two articles in
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN and chose
 FLOWERS IN GEORGIA by Katharine Fedden
in issue number 72, April 2013

For photographs of some of the plants Katharine saw in Georgia, see the MGS website
http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/72-georgia.html

[Hilary]

Allium triquetrum, Stinking Onion

This stamp was on a postcard sent to us from Guernsey. Looking up information I found that it is one of a ten stamp series named WILD FLOWERS

Apparently this plant is very common on Guernsey. You can read about it here
http://www.guernsey.net/~cdavid/botany/files/allium%20triquetrum/index.html

This bulbous plant can be found in a list compiled by Derek Toms in
 HOME GROWN VARIETIES

“of over 200 Mediterranean plants which are, or have been, cultivated in temperate gardens”

The article is in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 3, Winter 1995/6

[Hilary]

Calendula officinalis, Marigold

This stamp, issued by Nepal in 1969, was among a pile my friend L donated towards this effort.

The photo is of a Marigold for sale at a local plant nursery

Looking through the index of THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN I found four references to Calendula officinalis. I have chosen
 COPING WITH THE CLIMATE IN TUSCANY by Judith MacDonald
TMG no. 4, Spring 1996 for you to read today

[Fermi]

Hi Hilary,
I think your pic of an African (?) Marigold (Tagetes erecta) is appropriate as that's what it looks like on the stamp rather than calendula.  In India (and presumably in Nepal) Tagetes flowers are used in ceremonial wreathes and decorations in temples and shrines - which seems strange as they originate in the "New World" and could only have been introduced from the West by the Portuguese and other colonial powers - but then again chilies also come from the Americas and think about how pervasive they are in Indian cooking!
cheers
fermi

[Hilary]

So my photo is of Tagetus erecta. I will change the name of the photo on my computer, thanks Fermi.
 
I looked at the stamp site where i find information about dates and names of the plants on the stamps I post. I see that the series is named FLOWERS not flowers of Nepal . Another stamp, of the four stamp series, is of Euphorbia pulcherrima

[Hilary]

Zinnia peruviana, Chinta del Campo

Argentina issued a series aptly named FLOWERS OF ARGENTINA in 1982.
Then again in 1983 once more in 1985 and finally in 1989 passing through three monetary systems.

Zinnias are very popular here in Greece and seem to blossom in the autumn.
A collection of three photos of Zinnias which I have used before
 I found a reference to Zinnias in THE MEDITERRANENAN GARDEN number 46 October 2006
Read THE REINHARDT GARDEN:
2. A WORK OF ART by Ida Tonini

Photographs of this garden can be seen here
http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/46-reinhardt.html

[Hilary]

Tillandsia aeranthos, Airplant, CLAVEL DEL AIRE

This stamp was issued by Argentina in 1982

There are plenty of photos of this plant on the web if you search by its name, apparently it is very easy to grow

I didn’t expect to find Tillandsia referred to in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN but was nicely surprised to read about it twice IN THE LAND OF VESUVIUS by Lindsay Blyth . TMG , number  64, April 2011
For photographs of some of the gardens visited, see UK Branch page on the MGS website
http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/branches-uk-b.html
Scroll down to September / October 2010

[Hilary]

Bauhinia candicans, Pata de Vaca

Another flower from the stamp series issued by Argentina in 1983
I can’t say I have seen a white Bauhinia so no photo

Apparently Bauhinia candicans is a synonym for
Bauhinia forficata subsp. Pruinosa
Looking through the index to THE MEDITERRANENAN GARDEN I came across Bauhinia forficata
TMG number 80 April 2015 in
From the President:
 AWESOME PLANTS 
By Alisdair Aird

[Hilary]

Capreolus capreolus, Roe Deer

Another stamp from the UK issued by the Royal Mail in 2004 in the series WOODLAND ANIMALS

I  found this reference to deer in the DADIA –LEFKIMI-SOUFLI  FOREST NATIONAL PARK , Thrace, Greece.
http://dadia-np.gr/?page_id=4317&lang=en

The photo is of a blue fawn which my mother had bought at a bring and buy sale and which caused, probably the only argument in my parents’ marriage. It sat in the middle of the mantlepiece in the front room.

Looking for references to deer in the index to THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN  I was surprised at just how many time deer are mentioned
Read THE BENEFITS OF MULCH by Katherine Greenberg, in TMG number 18, Autumn 1999, where she writes of using mulch on the deer trails in her garden 

[Alisdair]

Yesterday morning, here in Sussex (back from the MGS tour of Uzbekistan), we looked out of the bedroom window and counted 31 fallow deer enjoying breakfast in the field just outside our garden - they're quite a plague here, thriving in such numbers that they almost completely prevent natural regeneration of the woodland, by never giving the young saplings a chance to survive to adulthood. But it's hard not to have a soft spot for Bambi!

[Hilary]

Malus domestica, Apple

Yugoslavia 1952/53 in a series named NATIONAL ECONOMY

The photo is of the apples we are eating just now and the tablecloth which was given to me by a friend from Romania

I was spoilt for choice when the question of finding an article in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN where apples are mentioned.
I chose THE GARDENS OF RONDA by Sue Bently in TMG number 32, April 2003

[Hilary]

Calystegia sepium and Echium vulgare, larger Bindweed and Viper’s Bugloss

A stamp issued by the Royal Mail, in a six stamp series named FLOWERS, in 1967

I am posting photos of flowers which I have identified as Calystegia sepium and Echium angustifolium. Corrections gladly accepted.

Bindweed is mentioned in several copies of THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN but not Calystegia sepium specifically.
Read all about
 OF WEEDS AND MEMORY by Virginia Scaretti
 in TMG number 15 Winter 1998/9

Viper’s Bugloss is also mentoned a couple of times.
Go to THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number  62, October 2010 and read
THE ‘OCCASIONAL’ GARDENER IN A MEDITERRANEAN SETTING
by Andrew Polmear