Philatelic Horticulture Anyone?
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Hello Fellow Gardeners!
If you, like me, have age-related issues such as reduced energy, lack of balance and/or several others then you may want to slowly transition to “philatelic horticulture.”
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Philatelic Horticulture refers to the collecting of stamps featuring plants, flowers, and horticultural themes. This includes stamps from various countries that depict specific plants, gardens, or horticultural events. The practice falls under the broader field of philately, which is the study and collecting of postage stamps.
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There is virtually no aspect of horticulture which in some way has not been featured by postage stamps. A hobby with such stamps has several advantages:
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No backbreaking digging in the garden
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No watering required
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No insect or disease attacks
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Much of the background research can be done on the computer
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The stamps can be stored “forever”
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A quick glance at the Delcampe website shows that there are many beautiful stamps from Apples and Apricots (both also on Canadian stamps) all the way to Zinnia and Zucchini.
In my own case I am focusing on potatoes. The American Topical Association checklist shows 141 entries for different potato stamps. Together with other colleagues I have collected and written several articles about “Potatoes on Stamps.” As an example, see the attached article: Potatoes: From the Andes to Europe.
If you are interested in checking out some aspects of horticulture on stamps and need some help, then I will gladly try to be of assistance.
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Hielke De Jong
