Tolkien's Floral Fixation

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

. . . . It got me thinking about the botanical gardens in Oxford that Tolkien liked to go to so much. When Lauri and I were in Britain, we went there and made a point to sit under Tolkien's favourite tree. . . . .
I guess what I was trying to get at was that I am inspired by Tolkien's love of all things botanical and the descriptions of landscapes and flowers were what really drew me into the books as a whole.

That's a wonderful inspiration, TGEW. It is just as legitimate as those who come to Tolkien for the warfare and the fighting and the action. (*coughs* I won't mention any film directors.) I'm sure there are many here who share it.

This thread might also be the place to note here on the Downs that Tolkien's beloved pinus nigra has fallen. Two large branches cracked and fell down and the tree was deemed too unstable by arborists, so the rest was cut down.

There is a video of the split and fall: Tolkien's tree falls