Plants for Sale....some quite old....

Many shops try to be "precious" and "retro-cool" and then some just are.....

 

 The center koi pond....with fountain and reeds in rear...

 

  

The brick arch originally connected the Lyman Estate pleasure gardens with the kitchen gardens.  Now it connects the older and the less old wings of the greenhouse.

 

 

the all important info sheet drawers....

Two hundred years of mid-winter bliss...

Last weekend I stopped by the historic Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, Massachusetts. This is one of the oldest greenhouses in the nation, built by Boston merchant Theodore Lyman in 1793. It is a working greenhouse maintained by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and every February and March their famous camellias, among the first ever imported to the U.S., bloom in profusion in a special wing built by Lyman in the 1820s.

 

 

  

Other parts of the greenhouse complex include the Grape Houses, where exotic flowers and fruits were grown for the winter table.  In the background below you can see the vines of the  Black Hamburg and Green Muscat of Alexandria grapes that are grown from 19th century cuttings from the royal greenhouse at Hampton Court in England.

 

 

  

 

Another room houses the extensive collection (thousands) of orchids and epiphytes....

I love the cranks and pipes and valves everywhere....

There is another wing that serves as a garden store.  I'll post those pics tomorrow.

"Snowflake" Bentley's fleeting beauty

“Every snowflake has an infinite beauty, which is enhanced by knowledge that the investigator will, in all probability, never find another exactly like it.”

Last week saw a unique weather event---snow in 49 of the 50 U.S. states.  It seems an appropriate moment to honor the romantic Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley (1866-1931), whose picture, and pictures, hung in my childhood home.  At age 15, Bentley was given a microscope and began looking at snowflakes.  By age 19, he had developed the techniques that allowed him to photograph individual snow crystals.

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

Over his lifetime, Bentley photographed 5,381 crystals, and no two are alike.  In 1931, his book Snow Crystals, containing more than 2400 snow crystal images, was published.  As kids, we would pore over this book trying to choose our favorite snowflakes and confirm for ourselves that no two were alike.

Ironically, Bentley died from pneumonia contracted during a walk in a blizzard.   Last week ten of his original photographs were put up for sale by the Carl Hammer Gallery at the American Antiques Show in NYC.  They cost $4800 each.  The photos above were all taken from the gallery website.

 

Happy Valentine's Day

(click to enlarge)

The beautiful rugs of C.F.A. Voysey

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  I was looking at these beautiful reproductions of the rugs of Charles Voysey (1857–1941) recently.  Voysey was an English architect and designer who was influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Craft movement.  The rugs, which retail for about $4000 for an 8'x10', are sold here among other places.

For those with less money to spend, here are some artsy-crafty rugs from Home Decorators Collection.  I have Orange Blossom in my kitchen and love how cheerful it is (this rug was also sold by Garnet Hill last year at a higher price).  I wish I had a spot for Marigold.

 

 

McIntosh

  

Summer Day

  

Orange Blossom

  

Marigold

 

Poppies

Here's an earlier rug post you might like:  Some Magic Carpets

Etsy, a love-hate relationship

Etsy is the on-line equivalent of a crafts fair where, like such fairs, you can find beautiful hand-made items amongst an even greater amount of stuff one might consider junk.  Of course, one person's trash is another's treasure (as indeed you may conclude below).  I love the fact that (with PayPal) there is an easy mechanism for a crafter to sell their creations to the world.  I hate the fact that the Etsy site is so massive that it is almost impossible to find anything by browsing (unless you have a lot of time on your hands).  Most of the stuff I've bought on Esty I've found via links from other web sites.  So, in that spirit, here are a few of my recent purchases.....

octopus bag

cute pouch

math clock (the perfect gift for all the geeks in your life)

now sold here

cool tee of Scutigera coleoptrata that live in my basement

 

now, cooler hoodie available from same vendor

I never bought these wall decals but would if I still had toddlers