Weekend fun

Recently I have been able to begin ticking off a few things on my "Autumn To Do List". It began with a week long clean out of book shelves and seasonal wardrobe changing (more on that tomorrow). 

This weekend it was time to transplant a few potted plants. The other day, my friend Sam helped me choose and bring home what I like to call an intelligent pot, the kind that regulates the water intake of the plant. Today, I got down and dirty and had lots of fun in the process. Also signed up for a gardening class next Saturday. Think its time to become a bit more serious about this hobby. The more I toy around with the idea of home grown herbs, the more I feel like the idea. When I'm feeling really ambitious I dream of growing tomatoes and other vegetables. Fruits are mostly out of the picture though - the terrace is too small for them.  And then of course there is the work of Patrick Blanc and his amazing vertical gardens, like the one on the wall of the Caixa Forum here in Madrid. His passion for plants, for creating ecosystems that are both sustainable and beautiful, is truelly an inspiration. I love the idea of a city alive with vegetation. 

Arriving in Madrid after London, one of the things I missed the most, and still miss, is the greenery. True, Madrid has the Retiro and the Casa de Campo and thanks to them a very large extension of greenery. But you have to make a point to go to them. There are few squares and smaller parks in the different districts of the capital, unlike London where communal garden squares are quite numerous. I'm not comparing both cities, each has its charm... but I do miss the gardens of London.  Lucky for me then that a few years ago they opened a small garden of the Canal Isabel II just a block away from my house. I often go there for walks and work outs. 

Which is why I hope the example of what New York is doing with the High Line - an original project which combines ecology and beauty that is converting the rails of High Line that is no longer in use into a garden that is both a new lung for the city and a great new open place for citizens to enjoy - will stimulate other cities to create similar projects where nature is brought back into the gray, cement heavy, city centers. Likewise, some of the ideas presented to Sarkozy for his plans to restructure the "greater Paris" region are important meditations on the future of city scapes the world over. In my own small way I wish to contribute to that shift, from cities choked by cement and smoke to ones that breath fresher air thanks to greener streets.