Lodhi Colony in New Delhi

In New Delhi, India, there is a large park area called Lodhi Garden. People gather there for Sunday picnics. Adjacent to the park, there are a few blocks of old houses that have been painted in such an imaginative way. This happened during the pandemic years when many artists and craftsmen had no customers; no tourists came to the city. That's when the city stepped in and provided these artists with jobs and salaries, with the task of repainting all these dull gray houses into something new and vibrant. Now it's like walking around in an exciting new city with imaginative houses. I promise you've never seen anything like before!

A Small Garden in My Own Neighbourhood on Bastugatan

A few years ago, this was a small secret area that was left over, no one owned or cared for it. Maybe it was owned by the Stockholm municipality – I don`t really know. Across the street, there were some residents who felt that this little area needed to be taken care of and could become a nice oasis for those of us who live here. So, they went in and started clearing bushes and small grassy areas. They made some flower beds and planted flowers. They put in a bench, made a compost bin. Arranged a small gate in the fence. Or was it already there? Someone within the municipality probably thought this was a nice initiative. Wanted to help and take care of it just like they do for the old cultural houses on the rest of the street. And just like that, the little park got a name: Olle Adolfsson Park. A statue was erected and so the forgotten area became a park with a name and a statue. Olle Adolfsson was an artist who wrote and sang about the place where the park is now located. What a sweet story!

Do you know what an ARBORETUM is?

Well, It's a collection of trees, often arranged in a small forest-like setting, curated to preserve and showcase various tree species. Far out in the Stockholm archipelago, there is an arboretum that a retired banker created some years ago. Lassa's Meadows is the name of the arboretum located on Svartlöga in the northern Stockholm archipelago. You can get there by the archipelago boats that serve the entire archipelago. Here, trees have been brought from trips all over the world, and they have been allowed to move into the imaginative garden with dug small canals and islands. A beautiful fence surrounds the entire facility, which I believe is open to the public, it at least was once when we visited Svartlöga.

Rosendal's Garden in Stockholm

This is a place that most Stockholmers are familiar with. But for those of you living in other cities or countries, you may not be aware of this oasis located in the Royal Djurgården. The area was transformed by the gardener into something entirely new. It features organic cultivations across vast lands, greenhouses, a café, and pleasant pathways amidst flowers and vegetables. The greenhouses are popular attractions both in summer and winter. Visitors purchase flowers and plants and enjoy a coffee together. Or as we sometimes do – hold our annual Christmas party at Rosendal’s garden.

//Gudrun