[Hilary]

Protea grandiceps  - Rooisuikerbos

"This is a very slow growing fynbos shrub that produces excellent, long lasting, red flowerheads, beautiful for garden display and as a cut flower, and with its broad blue-green leaves, it makes a perfect shrub for the fynbos garden."

Protea are mentioned in TMG number 24, April 2001
A MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN FLOURISHES IN PENNSYLVANIA by R. William Thomas

[Hilary]

Freesia Hybrid
To celebrate the fact that the first Freesia has opened on our balcony I am sending these photos of Freesia past and  a photo of a stamp issued by Poland in  1964.

Spoilt for choice to find an article in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN  which mentions Freesia I have chosen
CAPE BULBS by Heidi Gildemeister in issue number 27, January 2002.

[Hilary]

Strix uralensis  Ural Owl
This stamp issued by Japan in 1979 was to commemorate THE INTERNATIONAL LETTER WRITING WEEK.
Somewhere, connected with this stamp, I found this phrase
"Steep Mountain and the Dark Dale "


I don't expect anyone gardening in the Mediterranean climate will see this owl but it does appear to live in the Dalmatian Alps according to the map of its  distribution.


Melissa Hamilton mentions owls in her articles GOING NATIVE in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN numbers 83 and 85

The nearest I have even been to an owl was when we picked up this china owl from a charity shop in Sherborne for next to nothing.

[Hilary]

Rather than start with the stamp and find an article in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN which refers to the subject, then look for a photo to accompany the stamp, I started the other way round.

Looking through TMG number 57, July 2009, which, so far, I have not referred to in this thread,  I came across
SOME DROUGHT –TOLERANT FOOD PLANTS: PART II by Davis Bracey
There is a paragraph devoted to Maize Zea mays

The stamp was issued by South Africa in 1961

The photos were taken in September 1966 when I was on a bus trip to Kastanies in the very north east of Greece. I think it was  the first time I had ever seen maize, not to mention buffaloes
The photos were taken in the evening after the day's work had been done.

[Hilary]

Sorry no stamp or flower today but I couldn't resist posting this photo of two buffalo taken in 1966 at Kastanies in northeastern Greece

Bubalos bubalis - Greek Buffalo, Domesticated Water Buffalo

In 1966 there used to be over 40,000 buffalo in Greece.
Then a large number of Greeks  emigrated to Germany, Australia etc leaving the land unused for agriculture.

In 1981 the Buffalo population had dropped to 930 beasts.
Since then there has been an effort to increase the number  of buffalo  and by 2011 there were over 3000.

Not expecting to find any reference to buffalo in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN I was surprised to read that

the Nobel Prize winning poet Frederic Mistral met Buffalo Bill  in Provence

TMG issue number 44, April 2006.

[Hilary]

Chrysanthemum morifolium
China brought out a series of postage stamps featuring Chrysanthemums in 1960/1
This is one of them.

Since I don't have a photo of this kind of Chrysanthemum I snapped a piece of embroidered silk which, I hope,  depicts this flower.

There are many references to wild Chrysanthemums in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN  but not many for the cultivated kind, although I am sure the gardens shine in the autumn with Chrysanthemum dispays.

Read TMG number 76, April 2014 SOME MEDITERRANEAN GARDENS ON THE BLACK SEA BY David  J, Bracey where he says

The gardens and arboretum cover about 40 hectares spread over terraces and meandering paths with the standard cactus, palm, rose, bamboo, pond and chrysanthemum gardens

[Umbrian]

It is interesting to reflect on the varying associations that flowers have in different parts of the world.
The Italian husband of a friend told us how horrified he was when, on entering the church in England for his wedding, he was confronted with floral decorations containing mainly Chrysanthemums. It was autumn and, in those far off days, they were the only flowers in ready supply.  In Italy Chrysanthemums are associated with funerals! Having nowhere to run, being far from home, he stood his ground and remains happily married to this day nearly 50 years on.

[Hilary]

Protea amplexicaulis
Yet another Protea. The English name being
Claspingleaf Sugarbush and the Afrikaans name being Aardroos

This sprawling protea shyly hides its velvety flowerheads under its unusual grey-green, pink-margined leaves.
Protea amplexicaulis is a low-growing, sprawling shrub that varies in size and can grow up to 1.3 m in diameter, whereas the height remains under 500 mm. The plant more commonly grows close to the ground and has been spotted spilling over cliff faces, with dramatic effect.

The stamp was issued in 1977 by South Africa

The articles written about gardens in South Africa and which feature Protea can be found in
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN numbers 16,27, 71and78.

[Fermi]

I found this link for pictures of stamps featuring Australian flora:
http://www.cpbr.gov.au/stamps/index.html
cheers
fermi

[Hilary]

That's really interesting. I only had a few stamps from Australia showing flowers and have posted them all on this thread,

[Charithea]

Hi Hilary and Fermi. Many thanks for the 'stamp' series. I have been away from the Forum for several weeks because my computer was 'sick'. it has been repaired so I can take part again. Fermi your Australian link is very interesting.

[Hilary]

Tulipa
In 1977 the Royal Mail issued  a  stamp series named 'Greetings Stamps' featuring botanical drawings from times past.

The photo is of some dwarf Tulips which were blooming on our balcony last week.
I think I should have brought them into the shade at noon when the sun was hot.
They are all dried up now
We were very kindly sent these bulbs last year and I am pleased to say that all nine of them  produced flowers.

Tulips are mentioned in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN in issue number 2, Autumn 1995.
THE GARDEN IN AUTUMN by Jenny Bussey

[Hilary]

Fuchsia 'Princess of Wales'
A stamp issued by the Royal Mail in 1997.
I think the  photo was taken in Cornwall

if you read the article,
ROBERT GRAVES IN MALLORCA:
A 1930s GARDEN REBORN
by Leonard Pearcy
in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 49, July 2007,
you will see that Fuchsia are also grown in Mediterranean gardens.

[Alisdair]

Thanks for sending me back to that article, Hilary, reminding me so much of my first real boss and a wonderful mentor, the late Eirlys Roberts, who as a young girl fresh out of college first worked as a researcher for Robert Graves at his Mallorca home.

[Hilary]

I do wonder if anyone is reading the articles I put forward. I enjoy reading them myself.