Tag: gardens

Postcard from Valencia, Spain: Philips lightbulb only hint of ‘secret’ garden of tiles beyond

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An over-the-top flashy exterior of a former home now the National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts commands the attention of most visitors in the historic center of Valencia. Almost the only thing attracting one’s attention to a smaller house museum on a busy street above the Turia Park is this old tile advertisement. But this, the House Museum José Benlliure, we enjoyed so much more.

The first floor of the former home provides insight to period furnishings, with the upper floors featuring paintings by José Benlliure y Gil (1858-1937) and his son. While the art is worthwhile on its own, the more intriguing spaces are found out the back door.

Benlliure designed the garden upon his return from Rome in 1912. The intimate retreat is filled with tile murals he collected and a colorful series he commissioned depicting regional costumes and agricultural products – mainly oranges and grapes.

At the rear of the garden is the artist’s former art studio and office, wonderfully cluttered and personal. A pure pleasure to explore.

Having the house mostly to ourselves, we felt as though we stumbled into a secret garden of Spanish tilework.

Postcard from San Cristobal de las Casas: Taking time to smell the flowers along the way….

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Slow travel. It definitely is not for everyone.

We started renting houses when our now-married daughter was a toddler and have been avoiding hotels ever since. Instead of constantly moving around, we stay longer and get to know places on foot.

Finding a comfortable spot in the right location is time-consuming but so worthwhile. Being able to have breakfast in robes and slippers while reading the paper and planning the day ahead suits our personalities. Plus, we tend to eat a large lunch after major walks and generally don’t want another meal out. Homemade soup, fresh salads or panini often serve as our dinners, and having a pleasant place to make margaritas or enjoy a bottle of wine is relaxing and saves fortunes.

In San Cristobal de las Casas, we were in the heart of things but on a quiet street. Columbine right outside the window where we ate breakfast attracted a wide assortment of hummingbirds throughout the morning, and the garden even had a “margarita tree” providing fresh lime juice.

Postcard from the Montréal Botanical Garden

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I will also confess that, during all the time since I have seen you, I have not been able to put your botanical garden scheme out of my mind. I should have been glad – and I still uphold this offer – to make a design for your garden entirely free of cost to you, simply, because the problem attracts me. You see, it has been my dream, for ever since in 1910 I first worked as a gardener’s assistant in the Berlin Botanical Garden and came to know this garden intimately, to sometime get a chance to lay out a new botanical garden in the way in which I think it should be layed out. Since then I have had opportunities to see and know many botanical gardens, but I have not seen one yet that even approached my ideal.

Letter from Henry Teuscher to Brother Marie-Victorin

April 14, 1932

We’ll take a leisurely stroll through the Montréal Botanical Garden and then head back to the Plateau area for lunch, thought the mister and I. But this garden refused to be dismissed so quickly.

The dreams of Brother Marie-Victorin and Henry Teuscher, the landscape architect-horticulturalist-botanist hired to design the garden in the 1930s, have germinated into a sprawling complex of almost 200 acres of themed gardens with 10 interconnected greenhouses stuffed to capacity. Towering groves of trees testify to its 80+ years.

The mister remarked the Botanical Garden seemed like a Noah’s Ark for plants, with virtually every species represented. Turns out, there are more than 22,000 species on the grounds. During high season, more than 450 employees, including horticulturists and botanists, work in the garden. While the park is removed from downtown and admission far from inexpensive, close to 1-million visitors wander the grounds annually.

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We saw only a fraction over the course of several hours, steering well clear of the Toxic Plants Garden (I’ve met poison ivy and oak on several occasions, thank you.) and deprived of touring the highly acclaimed First Nations Garden because of preparation for an upcoming exhibition. Fortunately, we were rewarded midway through with a café break – mine a fresh fig, goat cheese and pesto sandwich.

The random photos above represent only a small portion of our wanderings, and we are not what even remotely would be described as “plant people.” In fact, we have fewer than 20 pots on the balconies of our loft. Yet, the garden captivated my interest to such a large degree I actually have reserved some photos for another post or two….