An autumnal ginkgo, few leaves in the crown, many leaves on the ground. It's mid-November, the leaves are falling and lie in rich colours around the old giant. The Ginkgo Biloba tree, planted around 1860, stands in Schwerin Castle Gardens. At 165 years old, it is an impressive sight. It is a well-known feature of the garden and a sight that can be experienced at any time of year. The ginkgo is thought to be the oldest tree in the world. It may therefore be the ancestor of all trees. This also explains why the "Tree of the Year" board of trustees honoured the ginkgo as the "Tree of the Millennium" at the turn of the millennium. Botanists assume that the ginkgo is already over 300 million years old. Ginkgo also has many different meanings: it symbolises hope, resilience and peace, especially due to its ability to survive after the US atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Culturally, it symbolises longevity, friendship, love and happiness in China and Japan. In traditional medicine, it is used for its circulation-promoting properties and is said to support brain function. In China, the dioeciousness of the tree and the divided leaf are also seen as a symbol of the balance of the Chinese philosophy of 'yin and yang', which represents male and female principles, day and night, life and death.
Holger Felix, born 1959, photographer from Wismar, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. I have been taking pictures since I was seven years old. I started with a simple roll film camera in b/w, model Pouva Start from 1952. In my late youth I got my first analog SLR camera. Today.. Read more…