The painter and theoretician of the arts Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (1872-1944) enjoyed walking along Het Gein and painting what he saw. In his footsteps this morning I, too, admired one of my favorite little rivers to the south of Amsterdam which flows from Abcoude to Driemond.
Here's a typical spring view of the river - whose name in English means something like 'pleasure' - banked by Pollard Willows - coming into their own - and a variety of Spring wildflowers: Cow Parsley, Buttercups and Mustard Seed. And soon it'll be warmer!
Tags: Piet Mondriaan Het Gein (river), The Netherlands Spring Buttercup Pollard Willow Mustard Seed wildflowers tree scenic landscape river
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Many times in these pages I've referred to the fascinating career of Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866), botanist, physician, naturalist, who is well-known for his studies of and adventures - e.g. as a spy - in Japan. For the West he first described this Japanese Maple in 1845. It's called specifically 'carpinifolium' because its foliage resembles that of the Common Hornbeam. I'm rather taken by its delicate, small flowers.
Tags: Acer carpinifolium Hornbeam Maple Japanese Maple tree Japan Phillip Franz Balthasar von Siebold flower green flower Common Hornbeam Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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The larvae of this pretty hoverfly eat aphids and thus are looked upon with some favor by gardeners. Sometiimes it's called Aphid-eater Hoverfly. But I prefer a translation from the Dutch: Comma Hoverfly, given those six comma-like yellow patches on its 'back'.
Tags: Garden Strawberry flower Fragaria Comma Hoverfly Aphid-eater Hoverfly Eupeodes corollae Shaffy's Tuin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands insect larva
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Here's a pretty view from the Oosterdok southward into Amsterdam with three of the city's towers. On the left the famous Schreierstoren of Henry Hudson fame built as part of the city's defenses at the end of the fifteenth century. Then the Geldersekade - once the city's outer moat dug in the fifteenth century - leading to the Zuiderkerk in the distance. It was built 1603-1611 as the first church in Amsterdam designed for Protestant worship. On the right the Catholic Basilica of St Nicholas built in 1887 soon after Catholics had regained their freedom of religious organisation in 1853.
Tags: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Schreierstoren, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Geldersekade, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Henry Hudson religious freedom for Catholics, Amsterdam, The Netherlands tower Protestant boat
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Those 'flower lines' on the petals of Geranium versicolor are a kind of road sign for insects directing them to the pollen and nectar of a particular plant. It's always fascinating to watch those insects, in this case a Honeybee. Look only at its proboscis delving deeply to draw nectar from our Pencilled Geranium.
Tags: Pencilled Cranesbill Pencilled Geranium pollen nectar Geranium versicolor Honeybee Apis mellifera insect proboscis Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Flower Lines petal flower
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