Women Born In The 1920s

"The small and graceful with its solitary pink blossoms was … acquired from with the , often favored for its delicate flowers and heart-shaped leaves. China in turn imported the native Persian vine, , onion, , and and began cultivation of . Called Medice by the Greeks for the lush valleys of where it grew wild, alfalfa was first introduced to Greece when the Persians under carried it there as ."

"Beth Chatto, who died last year, was singularly forward-thinking and knowledgeable, and her near in have been a continual draw to enthusiasts for half a century. ’s authorised biography, Beth Chatto: A Life with Plants (Pimpernel, £30), based on diaries, notes and conversations, is a faithful, workmanlike account of a truly remarkable plantswoman and artistic gardener (as well as a very nice person) who emphasised the importance of understanding ecology in growing plants successfully, and whose naturalistic exhibits in the 1970s and 1980s were a revelation."

"The Taj Mahal is an unforgettable visual experience. With every change of light there appear subtle variations in the hue of the luminous ; at times it appears to be a vision."

"The distinguished nurserywoman Beth Chatto, who has died aged 94, was one of the most influential horticulturists of the past 50 years. Well known and respected for the she started in in 1967, she was also an inspirational writer and lecturer whose great theme was the importance of providing garden plants with an environment as close as possible to their native . During the 1970s, she won 10 successive gold medals at the , where she introduced ecological ideas into , demonstrating the possibilities of natural plant groupings, while also achieving the highest aesthetic standards. In those days nurseries arranged their plants for maximum visual impact regardless of differing plant needs. Chatto’s approach was a revelation and immediately established her significance as a guide to better and more environmentally friendly gardening techniques. She stressed the importance of looking at the whole plant, foliage as well as , and judging the quality of a plant by observing it throughout the seasons."

"In the first century , Roman warriors invaded Persia for power and plunder and were captivated by the s. Following his extended Eastern campaigns, the Roman general, , returned to Rome and retired to the great gardens he built in the Persian style. He had an interest in philosophy, wrote a history, and collected a great library, but he was also . His were so large and costly to build that he was called " in a " by when he saw them. ... Lucullus is credited with introducing the and the to Europe in these gardens."

"is credited with introducing into India the traditionally used by the s as elegant camping groounds. ... Not merely settings for occasional enjoyment, gardens were Babur's preferred residence just as they were for his ancestor (Tamerlane, 1336–1405). The Timurids' inclination for fighting was equaled by their enthusiasm for building, and during the century following Timur's death the forms and ornamenatation of their architecture became ever more refined. The exuberantly tiled, gittering order of and with their green belts of great s were Babur's architectural idea. Several of Timur's residential gardens in Samarqand were described by , the Spanish ambassador to Timur's court. ... Large enclosures with fragrant fourfold gardens, coursing water and brimming pools, plantations of trees with colorful pavilions scattered throughout became a Timurid tradition. Fruit trees were planted in profusion, and , who has writtn with such authority and insight on , relates these Timurid enclosures to the Persian bustan, or . ..."

"orientale can produce a lush effect under trees—it is much too coarse for small gardens but can be splendid where something elephantine is needed. The flowers come before the leaves; rather naked-looking pink stems of blue -like flowers in early spring are followed by huge hairy leaves, handsome in the right setting."

"s make a blaze of rose-pink, both ' and , while ’Blackthorn Apricot' is an orange-pink, , perhaps. It now looks well beside the grey-leafed ' with its spires of pea-green hiding tiny lemon-yellow flowers, or with the distinctive ' ’Euphorbioides', a plant I much admire."

"Concerning whether to or not, of course I do not disapproved of all watering. That would be hypocritical, since we must irrigate the nursery crops and do water parts of the garden, such as the Wood Garden, in very dry times. But my thinking on the subject is based on the assumption that water is our most precious commodity as the world population continues to explode, and modern demands for water are often in excess of actual need. Combine this with the , then surely we must be prepared to reconsider some of our gardening practices."

"Ideally, should be approached from the heights of Whitcliffe Common for views of its and the among the cluttered roofs and chimneys, the rosy-pink bricks, the half-timbered houses and somber gray stone of the ancient town walls. The circling the town is spanned by the medieval and Dinham bridges — the latter immortalized in paintings by . From where I live, beside the renovated 12th-century chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury and a gnarled magnolia tree, I cross Dinham Bridge to wander alongside water meadows of s, , and grazing cattle. Swans glide on the river, the water roars and tumbles over the weir, and the mercurial flight of a appears like a hallucination."

"... pick up one of those superb books such as Private Gardens of England, by , on a wild, wet afternoon in February when the wind is shrilling outside, moaning through the gaps and spattering the window with rain. Turn to a picture of Saling Hall showing blues and silvers against the static severity of s, or see the black and white photographs of roses, cobbles and at , in which there's a table and chairs glimpsed through an open door in the garden wall. Books such as these are indeed a strong element of the whole pleasure of gardening; they need to be devoured and mulled over as well as those which are carried round in an earthy hand as vital advice flows out on what to do with five hundred s at the s."

"Dancing to a Bamboo Beat The New York Times"

"Aren't you tired writing about me? You should meet my niece who studied and worked in New York."

"Living in after we married, where we had a small farm with neither nor and where each spring a stallion bedecked with ribbons walked the lanes servicing the mares, we often made the journey between the country and London, a slow and un-trafficky journey through the before the age of motorways."

"[Tinikling] does become a contest between the dancer and the clapper."

"In the long run, extinctions of species are as inevitable as the deaths of individual animals, and it may be that the causes of extinctions are as varied as the causes of individual deaths.A wave of extinctions—a sudden diminution in the number of species—is analogous to a sudden big drop in the size of a human population, an event that deserves to be explained even though the individual people would inevitably have died sooner or later anyway. Catastrophes in human populations have many causes: war, famine, and pestilence are the possibilities that first spring to mind. There may be equally many causes for evolutionary catastrophes, as waves of extinctions could well be called. Another possibility, however, is that extinctions come in waves that are part of a recurring cycle. It would then be the cycle itself, rather than each individual wave in the cycle, that would need to be explained. If there is such a cycle, it presumably follows a cycle in the inorganic world, such as cyclic climactic changes."

"From the time the European invaders of North America established themselves and began keeping records, the bitter winters of the Little Ice Age become part of written history.From that point also, the natural history of northern North America began to deviate from its “natural” course. The continent was no longer isolated. The foreign invaders multiplied rapidly, destroying native ecosystems at an ever increasing rate. In time, the byproducts of technology began to poison earth, water, and air and have now begun to influence the climate. The measured responses of biosphere to climate, and of climate to astronomical controls have, for the foreseeable future, come to an end."

"In three months, the Inquirer had not only helped to oust Marcos, it was also making money."

"He worked hard. And now, he deserves to rest."

"(Aboout the Togliatti amnesty of 1946) The amnesty helped break the continuity with a regime that constantly preached revenge."

"We loved the mountains. Togliatti was a keen walker, as was I."

"(About Togliatti's failure to participate in the Resistance movement) I assure you that Togliatti was not far from the Resistance. He was a cold man, yes. But he hated badges, and the only one he always wanted to show off was the one given to him by the Volunteer Corps of Freedom. If he could have, he would have parachuted into northern Italy. Cold, yes, but he had utopia inside him."

"(About the attack to Palmiro Togliatti) It is impossible to understand that dramatic event without recalling the heated climate that followed the Christian Democrats' resounding election victory on April 18, 1948. That climate was very important, it was decisive. No one could have imagined that the election campaign led by the Church of Pius XII and the civic committees of Luigi Gedda could reach such a degree of violence. A violence that did not abate on the part of the victors even after their overwhelming success. That atmosphere, I repeat, was undoubtedly at the root of the attack to Togliatti. :*‘’Four gunshots to kill the Best‘’, ‘'la Repubblica’', July 14, 1998."

"(About women's commitments beyond work) When I started my political career, I had a home and had to think about that too, in addition to the thousand commitments that political life entails. :*‘’Parliament celebrates Nilde Iotti's 70th birthday‘’, ‘'La Stampa’', April 10, 1990."

"(About Massimo D'Alema secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left) At a time like this, we need a party leader with many skills."

"(About her relationship with Palmiro Togliatti) To think that I could have made an emotional ultimatum such as “if you stay in Russia, I'll leave you” is to ignore the nature of our relationship and Togliatti's temperament. :*‘’A story of love and politics‘’, ‘'La Stampa’', March 28, 1987."

"(About the request for a new Constituent Assembly during Tangentopoli) A constituent assembly is convened when there is such a rupture within the country, as happened after the war and after the fall of fascism, and this was indispensable. Even in the presence of very serious events, of a dangerous degeneration of the political system, we are not in a post-war situation, and resorting to a constituent assembly seems to me to be truly excessive."

"Interviewer: In recent months, you have become even more popular because you are the author of a proposal to drastically reduce—if not halve—the number of deputies and senators. Why? Nilde Iotti: In 1948, when the Constitution of the Italian Republic came into force, we were emerging from fascism and there was a need to reestablish a relationship, a democratic fabric with society. But now there are: Regional Councils, which were elected in 1970, Provincial Councils, Municipal Councils. We are faced with a much more complex society, a more complex democracy. So, I believe that the number of parliamentarians is really too high."

"(About Togliatti's memorial) It is not true that Togliatti was exploited, that the memorial was used against Khrushchev. I do not see a connection between the memorial and the fall of Khrushchev. The great process that would lead to this event was already underway in the USSR."

"(About his last trip to Russia) Togliatti was concerned about relations between the USSR and China, and about the situation between the party and intellectuals that had arisen after Khrushchev had taken a very rigid and harsh stance."

"The presence of women in Parliament has elevated women's issues as an integral part of Italian political life. In the past, these issues were kept on the sidelines."

"I shouldn't speak, given that I was president of the Chamber of Deputies, but de Mita's main flaw is that he wants to respond to everyone who speaks, one by one. He never waits for the discussion on a point to be exhausted. :*‘’Iotti: “De Mita does not know how to be president”, La Stampa, November 19, 1992."

"(Abot attack to Palmiro Togliatti) When, a few days after his surgery, he was allowed to read the newspapers, Togliatti wanted to read the reports of the attack. He was struck by a nine-column headline in L'Unità: “Away with the government of civil war.” I remember his comment: if they had written “Away with the Minister of the Interior,” that would have been a request that was not only plausible but also acceptable! And in fact, it later emerged that in the Council of Ministers, which met urgently on the same day as the attack, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlo Sforza, and his undersecretary, a very young Aldo Moro, had raised the issue of the Minister of the Interior's resignation."

"Talking about amnesty in the case of the Years of Lead would be out of place. Let's not forget that the armed struggle was waged against a democratic state, not against a fascist regime."

"Since women have been recognized as fully equal in the political sphere, with the right to vote and stand for election, it follows that women themselves must be emancipated from conditions of backwardness and inferiority in all areas of social life, and restored to a legal position that does not undermine their personality and dignity as women and citizens."

"(About the Bicameral Committee for Constitutional Reforms) The conditions are in place for positive work. We must all carry it out with the best interests of our country in mind. We will and must be judged on this work."

"(About the exploratory task of forming a government entrusted to her by Francesco Cossiga) Perhaps to say that it is a historic event is to say too much. But certainly, it is a development of no small importance. :*‘’“I light a candle, so that it won't be me”‘’, ‘'La Stampa’', March 28, 1987."

"(About Palmiro Togliatti) They spoke of his ties to Stalin and his awe, even in difficult times. In reality, he knew him little: they had met on three or four occasions. He admired him as a tough and tenacious fighter, but he understood the revelations of the 20th Congress and was shocked by them. [...] He had a keen sensitivity, a strong propensity to understand. I know that the image of him is different, but I knew him in another way. He defended himself against facts that deeply disturbed him, but his intelligence forced him to accept them as moments in the journey of civilization."

"I have no television – I hate it"

"We ask that children born outside of marriage be recognized in all respects, both during marriage and when that marriage has broken down, because we believe that this is the only possible solution, the only morally just solution. [...] Children do not ask to be born, and the responsibility for their birth does not lie with them, but with the parents who brought them into the world. Therefore, the responsibility of the parents cannot fall on them."

"I don’t want to know movie directors."

"I don’t think Ripley is gay. He appreciates good looks in other men, that’s true. But he’s married in later books. I’m not saying he’s very strong in the sex department. But he makes it in bed with his wife."

"(About the defeat of the Popular Democratic Front in the 1948 elections) On April 18, we found ourselves faced with a population called upon for the first time, unlike in 1946, to choose the parties that would govern after the breakup of the anti-fascist unity. It was a society we knew very little about."

"(About the the of the 1990 high school graduation exam) I would have proposed a different topic. I would have set the Italian exam paper on: “What are the elements that—historically, culturally, and institutionally—define the unity of a country, in a world that, on the one hand, increasingly values particular realities (from an ethnic, traditional, or cultural point of view) and, on the other, broader supranational dimensions?”"

"I believe the time is ripe for a woman as President of the Italian Republic. This is also thanks to the long journey women have made over the past 50 years in the fight for rights and complete equality. :*‘’Bonino: “Yes to the challenge for the Quirinale”‘’, ‘'La Stampa’', March 7, 1999."

"(About the comparison between Palmiro Togliatti and Massimo D'Alema) D'Alema has great political intelligence, but he has less experience, which leads him to be more impetuous and less attentive to repercussions."

"The Constitution does not and cannot have either an ideology or a partisan philosophy."

"(About nuclear armaments) The atomic race has reached a dangerous and intolerable limit, as ordinary citizens in every country understand. The time has come for their leaders to understand this too. :*From a speech to Michelin workers; quoted in ‘’A message of peace and hope from Nilde Iotti visiting the “Granda”‘’, ‘'La Stampa’', March 18, 1985."

"From an interview with ‘'l'Unità’'; quoted in ‘’[http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,9/articleid,1326_02_1988_0094_0030_19271116/ Nilde Iotti recalls April 18, 1948. “At that time, the Italian Communist Party did not understand society,” La Stampa, April 16, 1988."

"The Resistance was an extraordinary event. It achieved a truly exceptional unity that ranged from Badoglio's officers to communist workers."