The herbs are out, we can see alliums (garlics), basils, and sages at the Botanical Gardens in Cluj.
That’s right, basils. There are many varieties of basil, from cinammon basil to Thai basil to Piccalo basil to good old sweet basil (the one you are probably used to).
Absolutely beautiful flower arrangements. If you missed the tulips, you will find other flowers in their place.
As we all know, there are two big rules in the botanical gardens: do not pick the flowers (or any other plants) and do not step on the grass. If you would like to smell the busuoic (basil) up close, there is are a couple of places you can get closer to the plants, including a section off to the side for the seeing impared.
These plants also feature in the new novel by Cluj-based author Fatca Pop! Fatca writes about a girl who goes to a school with tight security, and part of her escape plan involves pizza herbs. Alliums, basil, and sage are great herbs for Southern European cooking, and we can see them in full bloom at the botanical garden.
Also in bloom is the crin, or lilly. Crina is a character a few of the stories in “Blue Went Away: colorful short stories” by Des Sousa.
Fatca and Des are debating about whether writing short stories qualify one as an author. Fatca says having a book of short stories makes you a “short story writer” and not an author. Authors write books, not essays or sketches. Des Sousa, however, prefers to be known as a playwright rather than a short story writer.
- George
- My new tenant is a short story writer.
- Vlad
- How is that?
- George
- Every time I ask him for his share of the rent, he tells me a story about why he’s short.
You can find more about these books at udigrudi.com