Meer Groen!

I have decided that after the ubiquitous orange, the second favorite color of the Dutch population at-large would have to be green. They don't exactly have very much green-ery and green-space in the cities, but they sure like to talk about it (my neighbor is not alone).

"Meer groen" (more greenery) is a common phrase you'll hear if you happen to be bored enough to watch the local channels on television which show interviews with folks in various Amsterdam neighborhoods. Along with "hondenpoep op de stoep" (dog poop on the sidewalk), "not enough greenspace" is a favorite complaint of residents. This is after all a place in which the GroenLinks party has a real voice, greenhouses abound, and biologisch(organic) food stores are popular with professionals.

So I wasn't really surprised when while passing by the Elandsgracht the other day, I saw some bushes sitting in a row on the side of the Prinsengracht. They came with the sign "Meer groen in de Jordaan." I'm not sure if this statement is asking the government to pull up the stones from the ground along the canals so they could actually plant bushes, or for more people to put potted plants outside their doors. Probably a combination of both, because from what I've seen, people here don't wait on this extremely slow government to take action.

Frustrated City Gardeners

At first, when I saw a lady who lives across the street carrying pot after pot of flowers to be arranged outside her door, I thought "Poor thing, she misses green space. She needs a schooltuin." After a couple more days, I felt like joining her.

This gal's horde of flowers (and thus her self) have been getting plenty of attention from the neighbors, some of whom I never even noticed in the winter. Multiple people have been stopping to chat with her about the flower set-up, which is certainly not a normal occurence around these parts. Saying hello is definitely not the Amsterdam standard.

These friendly folk who are chatting up my neighbor include a cute guy (perhaps wearing the hot pink thong for bending over and two-inch heel boots is not impractical after all...). This guy was even sweeping up for her during an intermission from his reading on a bench.

Unfortunately, I live on the first floor of my building (which is the second floor in the U.S.). Otherwise, I might consider starting my own urban garden -- they seem to have a "kindness" effect.