Translation
My next stop is to a very unusual and much visited garden. It was voted ‘Best Back Garden’ in London by ‘The London Gardens Society’.
In fact there is a TV crew on site today to interview both the owner Mona Abboud and me also [Karl Ploberger], what an honour!
Mona Abboud comes from Switzerland and for the last 17 years has transformed her long and narrow plot into a botanical garden.
Plants from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa grow perfectly well in the London climate without protection, thanks to the appropriate soil and position.
Interview:
Karl: “Mona, you are in fact a plant collector, with many unusual plants. How did that happen?”
Mona: “My Father loved plants, but he grew only the more ordinary, usual ones.”
Karl, pointing to a ‘Bottlebrush’, also known as ‘Callistemon’: “But this is not ordinary, a ‘bottlebrush’!”
Mona: “Yes, I love the unusual! A ‘bottlebrush’. And it grows here because it never gets too cold, usually no lower than -3/-4°C.”
Karl pointing to a ‘Pistacia lentiscus’: “Here we have a Mediterranean plant, ‘Pisticia’!”
Mona: “Absolutely, it is beautiful and has lovely foliage.”
Karl: “Definitely a botanical garden!”
Based on my short visit of Mona’s garden, I can describe her as an exuberant gardener who enjoys showing us the most interesting parts of her garden.
