It is a glorious spring, probably the finest I've experienced in my four years in Seattle. And I'm too busy enjoying it. The reason is that I'm actually preparing to move to Singapore in July - getting the house ready to be sold, sorting out things to be donated or sold, filling out countless pages of immigration forms, school admission application forms for the girls and who knows what else administrative stuff that always comes with relocating internationally. At least my US driver's license can be easily converted into a Singaporean one; I've already taken driving tests in Finland, Australia and USA (Sweden luckily let's one drive with a license from another Nordic country...), so told my husband that I'm not taking one single test again but showing all my four license that they can choose from.
So somehow, the name of my blog - The Intercontinental Gardener - really feels appropriate at last. It really was a bit of a joke in the beginning, even if I already then had gardened on three continents. At the same time, I felt sometimes that the name was a bit pretentious, as I've mainly been blogging about my gardening life after I moved to the US, and not so much about other countries I've lived in or even visited. But the name stuck, and now it seems more befitting than ever, even if I'm probably not going to be able to grow much else than orchids on a balcony in Singapore.
I'll try to update my blog somewhat regularly, even if it is quite hard to find time to really sit and think about other than these 'earthly matters' of life for the moment. But that will only be temporary - and I really can't wait to be able to 'report' about all things related to gardens from Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries soon!
Above - Magnolia salicifolia 'Else Frye' in full bloom in Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.
9 comments:
Det skal bli fantastiskt roligt att följa din blogg från Singapore!!! Det låter jobbigt att bryta upp, men tänk vad mycket spännande som väntar runt hörnet!! Synd att inte Linné levde, annars hade du kunnat bli hans "apostel" därborta! ;-)
Ha det gott - och lycka till med körkortet!
/Ruben
Hej Ruben - Det skulle väl varit något att vara Linnés apostel... :-)
Men det här blir otroligt kul, jag älskar att lära känna nya länder. Jag har varit i Singapore många gånger, men det blir ett nytt kapitel att verkligen bo där i tropiken. Många varma hälsningar, Liisa.
Kara Liisa!
Off Again!
You lead an adventurous life. Wishing you easy passage to your next home.
Beautiful photograph!!
Kram Carol
Kära Carol - thanks for your words and the kram! I'm very excited about moving, I've always loved travelling in Asia, and now have the opportunity to 'test' living there. And I can't wait to get to know gardens there better... Many hugs to you, too. Liisa.
I moved back to Vancouver Island last year after four years in the Philippines and I've really enjoyed your blog - here and there. I was travelling to all four of the Nordics twice a year on business while I was in Manila and you made a link between home and there.
SE Asia is terrific. You will adore the botanical garden in S'pore. Enjoy!
Howard - I'm so happy to hear from you, I love Vancouver Island that I actually visited for the first time when I was 5 years old. It will be an amazing change to move to SE Asian and tropics, I can't wait to see how it turns out. All the best to you, Liisa.
Singapore! Lucky you! Well for a bit anyway.I don;t think i could live there for ever, but a very interesting place. I did a blog about my trip there Feb or March 2011 - on Gardening Gone Wild. Amazing place for plant life and the govt really do manage the whole green aspects of life so well. But it is very confucian, paternalistic, a lot of Europeans don;t like that, maybe Scandinavians will adapt better. At time it reminded me of a kind of Asian bossy version of Sweden.
But the flowers, the plants, the orchids, the food!!!! I could live there for a bit, and a great place for exploring the locality. Let me know if you are interested in making contacts with gardening people as i do have some contacts. Best ,Noel
Hi Noel, yes, I guess it would be a bit difficult for a snowdrop/anemone person like me to live in the tropics for the rest of my life, but I'm thrilled about getting a taste of it for a couple of years (and yes - I love the food, too...). I would be very happy to have get in contact with any garden people there. I can't wait to see the work they are doing, and of course, to learn about the flora in the SE Asia - thank you for thinking of that. All the best, Liisa.
Good luck! You'll be a part of Asia now. I'm excited for you because you'll truly enjoy your stay here. I'm sure of it. :)
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