Welcome to Villa Emilia (My Woodland Garden), a photography blog with a slant towards gardening and nature. An amateur gardener and photographer, I hope to share beautiful moments with you through pictures. 🤎 From autumn 2026 onwards, Villa Emilia will be even more Christmassy than before!
Got a green thumb? This one's for you! In space, you can grow tomatoes, lettuce, peas, and radishes just like you would find in your summer garden. New ways of growing fresh food will be needed to keep brave explorers alive."
No. I'm cheating. :) It didn't look like this today. These sunny photos were taken in March last year. In reality, the weather continues to be cloudy. The temperature is around zero and the blanket of snow on the roof slides down. The photos below were taken yesterday in front of our home - and you see why we can't grow any shrubs for example in this spot.
Fortunately, all the snow slid down from the roof last night. It's rather heavy by now and definitely not something you'd want to be under when it falls.
♥
Browsing my last year's photos, I found also these, taken in March.
Once more, the photographer's skills and perhaps her camera lens fail to do justice to the beauty of the winter weather, but you do get the point: Nature is amazing in its beauty and design.
Osallistun näillä kuvilla viikon 11 MakroTex-haasteeseen, vaikka uudemmassakin postauksessani on näkymiä maaliskuulta. Meillä on edelleen yhtä paljon lunta... ja pilvistä. Kaikki aurinkoiset kuvat ovat viime vuoden maaliskuulta!
Luonto on ihmeellisen kaunis... ja makrolinssi olisi tosiaan tarpeellinen.
♥
Today, on the International Women's Day, I post a video for the first time ever. Remember Saudi Arabia’s driving ban for women? This is what The Independent wrote about it... and about this excellent video.
The video was published in October 2013 (I didn't have a blog yet) and many of you may have already seen it (I hope so!). However, I think it's definitely worth watching and listening, even several times. :)
At the moment, the roses are covered by snow, and outside it looks like this:
Now to the topic of this post:
Listening to good music while writing blog posts may be dangerous. With baroque music caressing your ears, all your photos look wonderful and your texts larger than life. That is, however, what I often do... :)
One evening recently, wishing to listen to something inspiriting, I chose a record where the South Korean violinist Jung Chanwoo, together with a Japanese pianist, plays Christian music.
I bought the CD several years ago in Italy after a concert (at a local Methodist church) by Jung. I chose it among the records available because it included some beautiful pieces he had played during the concert.
In general, that small church was the place of many unforgettable music experiences. In the Music School (Conservatorio) of the town, there were many foreign students, and a group of them, from South Korea, sometimes celebrated the Sunday service together with the local Methodists and sang there as choristers. I don't know how it is to hear angels singing, but it could be like in those moments.
The list of the contents (click to enlarge!) shows that there are both Western and Oriental melodies. One of my favourite pieces is the number 13; unfortunately I'm not able to read/translate its name. (Needless to say, if anyone of you is able to read the language, please write a comment!)
I also like the No. 10, "Ave Maria" (attr. Caccini); no matter if it's Italian or Russian, Baroque or contemporary, it is beautiful, and this is one of the arrangements I most like.
Jung Chanwoo has lived in Japan too and he hopes to serve as a bridge-builder between the Korean and Japanese people. He plays a Guarneri del Gesù violin that is believed to have been owned by Albert Einstein...
... and remembering that helped me choose the book for the evening.
It would be better to read Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children (ed. Alice Calaprice) in English, since most of the letters were originally written in English (and some in German), but unfortunately I have it only in Italian. There also are interesting photos and Einstein's biography in the book. Joyful, touching, sage, and perspective...
