[Hilary]

The Madonna of the Carnation
Bernardino Luini
A stamp issued by the USA in 2007
The painting can be found in The National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA
There are various theories about the significance of the Carnation in several paintings of the Madonna, I quote one of them

‘Pink carnations have the most symbolic and historical significance. According to Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross. The Virgin Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight, and carnations sprang up from where her tears fell.’

And a photo of a Carnation

[Hilary]

Christmas Robins, a series issued by the Royal Mail for Christmas 1995

This stamp features a Robin, green railings and a background of Holly.

The photo of a robin was supplied by fellow MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN SOCIETY member, David Dickinson in Rome,
The photo of Holly was taken at the beginning of December by our daughter when she visited El Escorial, Spain.

[Hilary]

And the Robin

[Hilary]

Four Cut Sunflowers
Vincent Van Gogh
Paris; August-September,1887
Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo

 The Netherlands postal service issued a series of 10 stamps featuring paintings by Vincent Van Gogh in 2003

Sunflowers are mentioned in many issues of THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN I chose number 88, April 2017 for you to read
From the President
PLANTS AND PLACES
By Caroline Davies

[Hilary]

Lathyrus odoratus, Sweet pea

The Netherlands issued a series of six stamps named SUMMER WELFARE, in 2003

Lathyrus odoratus is mentioned in MY FAVOURITE CAR-WASH
 by David Bracy.
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 66, October 2011
See THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN SOCIETY website for photographs of the planting at this car-wash.
http://www.mediterraneangardensocietyarchive.org/66-carwash.html

The photos are of Sweet peas, which I successfully grew from seed a few years ago.
I see they were on the north facing balcony and probably suffered less from the heat

[Hilary]

Iris x hollandica, Dutch Iris

The Netherlands issued a series, named SUMMER WELFARE, of six stamps in 2003.

Dutch irises are mentioned in
 BULBS FOR PLANTING IN THE AUTUMN
By Eile Gibson
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 102, October 2020

The photo is of a solitary Dutch iris we once had  on our balcony

[Hilary]

Campsis radicans

The Netherlands issued a series, named SUMMER WELFARE, of six stamps in 2003

Campsis radicans is mentioned in
PREJUDICES AND PRIDE
By Caroline Harbouri

The photos of Campsis radicans were all taken in or near Corinth, Greece.

 Pegasus is still with us but the palm tree succumbed to the beetle.
The Campsis radicans is still climbing to the top of a building  but has lost its leaves for the winter

[Hilary]

Meles meles, Badger

Five stamps issued by the UK in 1977 in a series named British Wildlife, Illustrated by Patrick Oxenham.

PHQ cards were also issued at the same time 
Several months ago, a friend of mine sent me the set of postcards depicting animals of the UK. I have already posted three of the five stamps in this series; however, they were used stamps and not all that clear. On the card you can clearly see some wild flowers.

And here is the blurb from my earlier post
Meles meles, Badger
A stamp issued by the Royal Mail in 1977 in a five-stamp series named
WILDLIFE PROTECTION 

In THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN   number 92, April 2018
 Christine Margerum writes  OF WILD BOARS, GRUBS AND BADGERS
 about her experiences with the wildlife in Umbria

[Hilary]

Clouds
In 2004 the USA issued a sheet of 15 stamps all featuring clouds with information about each cloud type on the back.

A friend of mine recently sent me the above mentioned  sheet and now I am planning to  post one of the 15 stamps and the information on the reverse  every  Monday.

Starting off with Cirrus undulatus