A couple of weeks ago, as I was walking around Quinta dos Lilases, as I have been doing if not daily, weekly, I was petrified as I came across 7 young fig trees planted in a row in the middle of the aimed place for the main part of the Orchard. I could not believe my eyes! Had the municipality started planting on their own?, not saying a word to me? I have to confess that I was flabbergasted! Then I searched for the gardeners working at the park, and finally I met one that told me that it had happened a few days earlier, she saw a man within a group, planting the trees (apparently there was one man digging and planting while the rest of the party was just looking). She recognized the man, as he had previously came to her asking if she could plant a fig tree for him, to which she answered she was happy to do it insofar as there was permission from above. She told me that when she saw him within that group, and the trees were planted, she informed her superior, but could not tell me if indeed they had asked anyone to plant them or had just gone ahead and do it, nor did she know if her boss was ok with it.
(Yes, I know the picture is terrible, I was in shock, remember?)
After I overcome the initial astonishment, I had to agree that the "Fig tree Party" was quite proactive! Someone wanted fig trees planted in the park, saw some initial difficulty so got around it and just got his project done. Much easier then having all this trouble negotiating with the Municipality and asking everyone what kind of orchard would they like!
My biggest problem, though, is that a line of fig trees there is not such a good idea, for starters it doesn't seem like the best option regarding the yield and prosperity of the fig trees, and it surely disrupts the flow of that patch, and it definitely comes in the middle of my design!!
In the meanwhile I got to speak to a Landscape Architect who works for the City, and who was engaged in the recovery project that contemplated Quinta dos Lilases. She had to laugh! She said it happens frequently (which I think great, really, if one is a little more subtle and plants trees in a more integrated manner, if you will). But anyway, as she said, those fig trees are quite young and just there, it wouldn't hurt them to be replanted within the new design. And that we shall do, soon we hope.
After I overcome the initial astonishment, I had to agree that the "Fig tree Party" was quite proactive! Someone wanted fig trees planted in the park, saw some initial difficulty so got around it and just got his project done. Much easier then having all this trouble negotiating with the Municipality and asking everyone what kind of orchard would they like!
My biggest problem, though, is that a line of fig trees there is not such a good idea, for starters it doesn't seem like the best option regarding the yield and prosperity of the fig trees, and it surely disrupts the flow of that patch, and it definitely comes in the middle of my design!!
In the meanwhile I got to speak to a Landscape Architect who works for the City, and who was engaged in the recovery project that contemplated Quinta dos Lilases. She had to laugh! She said it happens frequently (which I think great, really, if one is a little more subtle and plants trees in a more integrated manner, if you will). But anyway, as she said, those fig trees are quite young and just there, it wouldn't hurt them to be replanted within the new design. And that we shall do, soon we hope.