Aalsmeer Flower Auction is a flower auction that takes place in Aalsmeer, Netherlands. It is the largest flower auction in the world. The Aalsmeer Flower Auction building is the fourth largest building by footprint in the world, covering 518,000 square metres. The auction is set up as a Dutch auction in which the price starts high and works its way down. Bidders get only a few seconds to bid on the flowers before they are sold and passed on to the new owner.
Literally translating to platform cedar, daisugi is a 14th- or 15th-century technique that offers an efficient, sustainable, and visually stunning approach to forestry. The method originated in Kyoto and involves pruning the branches of Kitayama cedar so that the remaining shoots grow straight upward from a platform. Rather than harvesting the entire tree for lumber, loggers can fell just the upper portions, leaving the base and root structure intact. Although daisugi mostly is used in gardens or bonsai today, it originally was developed to combat a seedling shortage when the demand for taruki, a type of impeccably straight and knot-free lumber, was high.
Trail trees are living landmarks that hold cultural and historical significance for Indigenous peoples across North America. These trees, typically hardwood species such as oak, hickory, or maple, were deliberately shaped and bent by Indigenous peoples to serve as navigational aids, trail markers, and territorial boundary indicators.
Hymenopus coronatus, commonly known as the orchid mantis, is a remarkable and visually striking insect species belonging to the family Hymenopodidae. Native to Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, the orchid mantis is renowned for its remarkable camouflage and unique hunting tactics. One of the most distinctive features of Hymenopus coronatus is its uncanny resemblance to a delicate orchid flower, with its vibrant pink or white coloration, intricate patterns, and petal-like extensions. This remarkable camouflage allows the orchid mantis to blend seamlessly into its natural habitat, where it lies in wait for unsuspecting prey. Despite its floral appearance, the orchid mantis is a formidable predator, adept at capturing a wide range of insect prey, including flies, bees, and butterflies. Using its powerful forelegs, the mantis employs ambush tactics, remaining perfectly still until its prey ventures within striking distance, at which point it delivers a lightning-fast strike, immobilizing its victim with its sharp mandibles.
David C. H. Austin was a British rose breeder and writer who lived in Shropshire, England. His emphasis was on breeding roses with the character and fragrance of old garden roses (such as gallicas, damasks and alba roses) but with the repeat-flowering ability and wide colour range of modern roses such as hybrid teas and floribundas.
Cercis canadensis is a tree that appears as if it's out of focus.
On August 6, 1945, at a quarter-past 8 a.m., bonsai master Masaru Yamaki was inside his home when glass fragments hurtled past him, cutting his skin, after a strong force blew out the windows of the house. The U.S. B-29 bomber called the “Enola Gay” had just dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, at a site just two miles from the Yamaki home. The bomb wiped out 90 percent of the city, killing 80,000 Japanese immediately and eventually contributing to the death of at least 100,000 more. But besides some minor glass-related injuries, Yamaki and his family survived the blast, as did their prized bonsai trees, which were protected by a tall wall surrounding the outdoor nursery.
Gertrude Jekyll was an English landscape architect who was the most successful advocate of the natural garden and who brought to the theories of her colleague William Robinson a cultivated sensibility he lacked. Born of a prosperous family, Jekyll was educated in music and painting and travelled in the Greek islands, where she studied architecture and history. Her chief interest was in painting until 1891, when her sight gave her trouble, and she applied herself wholeheartedly to gardening instead. Her taste was for the simplicity and orderly disorder of cottage gardens.
Franz Junghuhn was a German-Dutch botanist and geologist.
Fasciation is a malformation of plant stems commonly manifested as enlargement and flattening as if several stems were fused.