Palm Tree Antics
All of a sudden the date palms are bursting into flower all around us.
You may have to crane your neck (and/or enlarge this image!) to spot the flower stalks as they emerge from among the fronds. But the signs are unmistakeable; in any case, the bees and the birds are leading us to them.
The date palm (Phoenic dactylifera) is truly a miracle of nature, its fruit so varied and filled with health benefits that one hardly knows where to start. And as a ratio of 50 female:1 male tree in cultivation works well, it seems the business of fertilising the female strands can be done pretty economically, from the trees’ point of view. Read more
At this time of year in Egypt, as elsewhere, many of them are putting on a stunning display. I’m astonished: Trees habitually take my breath away. 
I have just discovered spring bulbs growing in Egypt. It may be no surprise to some, but I had no idea they grow here – I’ve never seen them in a public park or other space, a garden or a florist’s. But as I walked among the wild and wonderful nursery beds in a somewhat abandoned corner of our local sports club, there they were: whole clumps of narcissus nestling under the trees. 
