We’re mountain trekking in Africa. Watching our footing as well as watching fascinating plants. The rocky path makes a beige line toward the slanted horizon. Look left. Mountain meadow, slope meets sky, but the peak is obscured hundreds of feet above.

Look right. 1000 foot drop to a silent but raging river, jagged rocks. Don’t look down. We’d crossed that river earlier in a hand made, dug out canoe, with our Malagasy guide named Bruno – when he says his name, it has about 6 rs after the B.

Before the steep path, the rocking canoe and the muddy rice fields, just to get here was a journey. Not everyone made it. A bouncy 4 x 4 jeep ride, over bridges of wooden rails and rocky roads culled a few people even before the beginning of this hike.

Forests and Plantlife in Madagascar

Chris Birkinshaw hikes, lives, works this way. He’s seen one of a kind forests, threatened plants, biological hot spots in peril and for 13 years he’s worked to protect them. He manages the most botanically rich, and physically inaccessible plant conservation sites in the world. All on the forth largest island on earth – Madagascar.

Such as Mt.Ibity Massif, where we are trekking today, called to botanical collectors since the 1800s – fat,fleshy, kipi doll Pachypodium . Firery, 8 tall Aloe, purple orchids, make meadows with silver grasses. The meadow still get grazed during annual cattle drives – African cowboys on horseback herding cows hundreds of miles, across farms, roads, public lands, mountains and the western slope of Mt. Ibitity. Those cows eat plants that you and I only dream of cultivating!

We are not here, as its not possible to collect plants for cultivation. Though this mountain has lured collectors for hundreds of years, its not protected. Chris and site manager Jeannie Raharimampionona take us out to dinner and ask….what horticulturists get out of hiking and seeing plants in the wild. Why do gardeners get excited by chaos and cows?

Its the thrill of seeing someone famous hanging out at the car wash – Look! Betty White’s getting the pina-colada smell. Its seeing a plant Ive read about, or grown as a house plant just being normal – hanging out on the edge of a 1,000 foot precipice. Its not seeing a concert, its seeing a sublime place and thing, just being.

Gardening Inspiration from the Wild

Its more though – of course hiking a beautiful place, taking the wrong path into a cemetery, seeing the sun set on acid green rice fields is exhilarating.

But I get lots of gardening ideas in wild.

Look! Kalanchoe grows best on the shady side of rocks – no wonder I kill it in sun.

Hey, that Crinum is always on the edge of stream – not out in the water.

Oh, thats Phyllanthus? It isnt always a weed!

Look for inspiration anywhere in the wild – or anywhere that plants just grow as they will. Mountains, sidewalks, trash piles, ditches. Youll learn that vines dont always kill trees, roots dont have to be in the ground and lots more. Nor do you have to travel to find these truths.

Plant Conservation

We dont really have much wild like Mt. Ibity left in the world. As famous as it is, as full of plants that occur only on her slopes, this site is not truly protected. Its in the first part a long process that hopefully ends in protection. Help conserve it. I wish I could send you to a web site to take action. But as Chris Birkenshaw says, we want to do it well and have a permanent member of staff to care for it but we have too much work on the ground. So if you want to help, help stop the grazing that damages wild forest the world over. Listen to Michael Pollan, we eat by the grace of nature, not of industry, and what were eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world. ie – eat less meat.
Ill post pictures of Mt. Ibity as I get them organized. Now, Ive just posted pictures from a different part of Magagascar – a place where the rain forest steps down right to the edges of the Indian Ocean – Masoala peninsula national park.

www.jenksfarmer.com Look under my other stuff for 30 new pics of rainforest, tent camp and magical valley of crinum lilies!

PS Chris Birkenshaw will be in the US this summer and might be able to do a lecture for your group or botanical garden! I can forward request to him.