Having walked the Hindu Kush with Eric Newby I decided to stay put and travel the Silk Road with Colin Thubron.
Firstly can I say that 'walk' and 'short' are the ultimate and intentional irony in Eric Newby's A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (which means Indian Killer apparently) because Eric and Hugh climb, scramble, limp, hobble and generally stagger their way around and I was quite relieved to be sitting in an armchair.
It was a short hop for me to hit the Silk Road, something that has always held huge and mysterious fascination, and especially since reading Peter Frankopan's book a few years ago.
I wasn't sure how ready I was for back-to-back reading journeys but never fear, Colin Thubron and Shadow of the Silk Road put me at my ease and I settled in immediately. History alternated with reality as we wandered around our starting point, Xian in China, visited the terracotta armies and met with the locals. It's a blend that feels well-balanced and works perfectly.
But it all reminded of a talk I went to on my last trip to New Zealand and an evening meeting of the New Zealand Alpine Gardening Society.
When I mentioned on here years ago that Offspringette was moving to Christchurch I had an email from a reader saying she lived there and to tell Offpringette to get in touch if she wanted to. Hilary lives and works in Christchurch, Offspringette did get in touch, firm friendships were made and it was Hilary who took me along as a guest to a talk on The Flora of the Silk Road given by Christopher Gardner (really) and his wife Basak.
I had planned to take notes and got as far as 'Four main genus, Iris, Fritillary, Tulip...' before they switched the lights out for the slides and I couldn't see to write, but I've never forgotten the talk, or the evening.
150 plus people all devoted to and knowledgeable about their plants
A display table where people exhibited their plants for some competitive judging...
A seed sale..
A request for pollen from auricula for cross-pollinating...
Planned trips up into the Southern Alps to see the plants...
I'd just flown over those mountains and now I could add plants into the picture...
A supper of cups of tea and the best egg sandwiches ever...
And then there was the scent as we walked in the room. Astonishing, delicate and the most beautiful plants. I’ve never seen or smelt anything quite like it before or since.
Thinking about our own planting plans for this year had heightened my awareness, so I have been on the alert for mentions of plants and trees as I have been reading. Eric Newby had spotted primula, potentilla, blue nepeta, golden ranunculus, hollyhocks, wormwood, juniper, flowering tamarisk and willows along with a healthy array of pollinators, butterflies and bees as he walked through the mountains of Nuristan.
Meanwhile, feeling a bit nostalgic for that experience, and those colours and scents, I ordered Christopher and Basak Gardner's book The Flora of the Silk Road from Devon Libraries. With apologies to whoever had to heave it off the shelf and get it across the county, I had no idea it weighed that much and wished I'd taken a wheelbarrow with me to get it to the car. But I'm having a wonderful wallow in its pages and now I’ve moved onto a book that has been on my shelf awaiting its moment...
Primrose by Elizabeth Lawson is sorting out all my primrose, cowslip, oxlip , polyanthus confusions and is enthralling with its tales of the plant hunters heading into Central Asia in search of rare species. I’m seeing them with new eyes, so with the primroses just starting to appear along the lane you can be sure I’ll be back with pictures of my own and much more about this beautiful book soon.
Meanwhile I hope the weather is being kinder to you wherever you are, I’m loath to tempt fate and say we still have a greenhouse because I feel sure there is more to come, but I hope you too are safe from anything it’s throwing at us right now ( and sorry to go on about it, but we are British after all, it’s what we do). The flooding around the country looks awful and hearts go out to anyone affected by it. Please do report in.
And any more Silk Road reading recommendations gratefully received along with news of any green shoots to cheer... our daffodils are on the brink, the next warm sunny day should do it.
Footnote : We have had ongoing phone and broadband issues since a bit of an encounter with a bolt of lightning a few weeks ago, so my apologies for any spacing glitches with this post and delayed replies to your comments. We’re getting to know the repair men quite well and we are winning.
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