Natural highs A row of Lebanese cedar in the Barouk reserve, southeast of Beirut
Befitting a city known for its acquisitiveness, the start of the Beirut summer is annually announced with the Garden Show and Spring Festival, held this year from May 29 to June 2. This showy extravaganza of competitive floral arranging, gardening demonstrations and Edenic bowers filled with designer flowers imported from around the world is the city dweller's answer to the great outdoors. But Lebanon isn't all about expensive hothouse blooms. For those seeking inspiration in green shoots rather than in what greenbacks can buy, Beirut and its environs offer plenty of urban (and close to urban) oases. All it takes is...
