Reading for fun

One of the treatiest things about this book-in-progress is the research aspect: indulging in hours of reading about medieval art or deco architecture or the eclectic group of artistic types that once inhabited the studios of Carnegie Hall.

This morning has been all about flora & fauna. The Medieval Garden Enclosed - the blog emanating from The Cloisters - focuses on the three cloister gardens within the museum. It places their distinct plantings within a larger context of medieval culture, life, ideology, while still offering a practical how-to approach that would appeal to a gardener (click away, Mom!).

Each Christmas the gardeners, volunteers and staff work to deck the halls, creating beautiful, symbolically-laden wreaths, swags and arches (just taken down last week). Last year I visited around this time, and people were still enthusing about the decorations: the clear winner was the enormous wreath hung in the Romanesque Hall. It's made from golden wheat, bay and hazelnuts (nuts: purdy to look at; gakky to eat).

Its neat lines and segments reminded me of Madeiran decorations (how they love making carpets out of flowers), and one in particular - the highlight of Canico's onion festival:

An onion gown. How would that even occur to someone?

Anyhoo, back to botany. Tum de dum...