#history of the garden

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The Knight of the Flowers (1894)

— by Georges Rochegrosse

[wh0-is-lily]

Lily of the Valley Vases 🪷

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strawberries | raspberries | currants | cherries

— by Virginia Granberry (1831-1921)

[die-rosastrasse]

Analogues I took at Versailles last Summer

[thecinamonroe]

Marilyn Monroe at the opening night of the Ringling Brothers Circus at Madison Square Garden, 1955.

[livesunique]

Villa Balbianello, Lake Como, Italy,

Photo by Nonnarena1

[i-merani]

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The Rose of all Roses, 1889

Willhelm Menzler

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Ireland 1927

[my-darling-boy]

And it hurts to miss you, but it’s worse to know

That I’m the reason you won’t come home

Photos by keltikfilm, editing by me

[blueiscoool]

Stone With 1,600-Year-Old Irish Inscription Found in English Garden

A geography teacher, Graham Senior, stumbled across a rock with mysterious incisions while tidying his overgrown garden in Coventry, England. The discovery of a small stone carved with an early form of Celtic script has caused excitement among archaeologists.

The rectangular sandstone rock was found by Graham Senior in Coventry during lockdown in 2020 while he was weeding, but its true value was only recently understood.

The 11-centimeter-long and 139-gram rectangular sandstone rock had cryptic inscriptions on it that suggested a history spanning over 1,600 years, all written in the mysterious Ogham alphabet.

Ogham is an early medieval alphabet used to write the Archaic Irish language from the 4th to the 6th century and Old Irish from the 6th to the 9th century. It is usually found carved on stones in Ireland, Wales, and western Britain. It was the first written language in Ireland. The majority of the 400 or so known inscriptions from the Archaic Irish period are family name pillars that were built to announce land ownership.

Ogham is an extremely unique writing system among all writing systems, with lines arranged in groups of one to five only. The stones provide insight into the Irish language before the use of the Latin insular script.

Finds liaison officer for the Birmingham Museums Trust, Teresa Gilmore, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the discovery on an Ogham stone in the English midlands was a rare find.

“These finds do not turn up in the midlands. The bulk of Ogham inscriptions are found over in Ireland,” she said.

Professor Katherine Forsyth of Celtic Studies at the University of Glasgow conducted additional research that shed more light on the stone’s provenance. Her findings point to a period suggesting a timeframe ranging from the fifth to sixth centuries, with the possibility of an even earlier date in the fourth century.

The stone is inscribed on three of its four sides. The inscription on the stone, “Maldumcail/S/ Lass,” puzzled researchers, with interpretations pointing towards a version of the personal name Mael Dumcail, but the meaning of the S and LASS is unclear. Given the usual purpose and significance of ogham stones, it may be a location reference.

Theories regarding the origins of the stone abound, with speculations ranging from migration patterns to the presence of early medieval monasteries in the region.

The rock will be displayed at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, to which Senior has donated it permanently. It will feature in the forthcoming Collecting Coventry exhibition, which opens on 11 May.

By Oguz Kayra.

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Title: Corner of a Garden

Artist: John Singer Sargent

Date: 1879

Style: Impressionism

Genre: Flower Painting

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The Beauty of Moths

— by Pieter Cramer (1721–1776)

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My love of history, mystery, and ominous manor houses full of dark secrets was forged in these worn-out vhs tapes of yore

[livesunique]

Abbotsford, Melrose, United Kingdom,

The Home of Sir Walter Scott,

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Uncle Sam had a green thumb? Digging into the history of victory gardens 🍅🌽🥕

Victory Gardens emerged during World War I as a way to ease the strain on the nation's food supply and foster solidarity among citizens.

Citizens were encouraged to grow their own fruits and vegetables to ensure a steady food supply for both the home front and the troops fighting overseas.

The movement continued during World War II, when the United States faced severe food shortages due to rationing and the need to support a growing military force. 

Victory Gardens became a symbol of community, patriotism and self-sufficiency, and by 1944, an estimated 20 million gardens were cultivated across the nation.

The U.S. government heavily promoted the Victory Garden movement through various initiatives and campaigns. The Department of Agriculture's Extension Service provided guidance and resources, such as instructional pamphlets on gardening techniques, to help citizens establish and maintain their gardens and plots.

The government also created a range of promotional materials, including posters, films, and radio programs, to encourage citizens to participate in the effort.

Further Reading: