Trees – Ornamento

Make Like a Tree

By: ornamento.blog January 13, 2022January 12, 2022

Art, Philadelphia, Photography, TreesBartrams Garden, Ginkgo Trees, Philadellphia, Photography, TreesLeave a Comment

It’s wintertime and although I know it’s supposed to be cold, I wish it wasn’t so dark. It was bright and sunny last October when a friend and I took a walk in Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, enjoyed a guided tour, and learned about the trees that populate the grounds. I’ve always loved trees.

I took copious notes on my phone about all the different kinds of trees we saw. But when I got home, I discovered that my app had not saved a single word. I did manage to identify the trees I saw and if you click on each picture here, the tree name will pop up.

Now I am fully aware of of how to spell Ginkgo. But if you click on the images to see the captions, you will notice that the word Ginkgo is misspelled. I chose not to correct it. The gremlins at WordPress already lost this post once before, and I don’t want to risk losing it again by futzing around with it. After all, blogging is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby for me and not an ordeal that makes me want to tear my hair out. Let sleeping Ginkgos lie.

Bartram’s Garden is home to the oldest Ginkgo tree in the United States, planted by the Bartram brothers in 1785. Read more about it here. If you want a complete list of trees and plants at Bartram’s Garden, press here. For a video history of Bartram’s Garden, press here. If you would like to visit, which I heartily recommend, press here.

The View From My Front Door Bob’s Garden Summer 2014

By: ornamento.blog July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

Art, South Philadelphia, South Philly, Trees, Turtle, Urban Gardening, Urban Landscapecreativity, inspiration, Philadelphia, Urban Gardens2 Comments

I live in South Philadelphia where there’s not much greenery. But I’m lucky because my neighbor Bob turns the hot and gritty summer landscape into an urban oasis every year. Here are some pictures from this years’ garden.

The Hawthorn tree

The Koi pond

Street view

Banana tree

Flowers bloom, die and

New flowers come up to take their place

Lotus

The Banana tree and koi pond

Bob’s BFF Barbra keeps watch over everything. Sqwalk!

If you want to see posts about of Bob’s garden from summers past, click on the links below. Not all of the slide show links work on the older posts but they will give you an idea of how the garden has changed over the years.

Collage Jewelry

First I cut the clear glass and a piece of stained glass (from scraps) for the back. The tiny collages come from my scrap paper collection- magazines, menus, calligraphy, newspapers, metal leaf, washi paper. (I like to troll the streets on recycling day). I also used some Dover images of Japanese woodcuts. (If you are ever in Tokyo, do not miss the Tokyo National Museum where you can almost get your fill of them.) I also used bits of wire, stones and tumbled stained glass that I drilled holes through, and pieces of twigs colored with Prisma markers and coated with epoxy resin. The frames are wrapped with copper foil tape and soldered with lead free solder.

Here’s some more from an earlier post.

Spring Flowers in Philadelphia

By: ornamento.blog April 16, 2010April 16, 2010

Art, Flowers, Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Trees, Urban Gardening, Urban LandscapeColor, inspiration, PhiladelphiaLeave a Comment

The Plum Blossoms and Cherry Blossoms don’t last too long, but the Hydrangeas and Pansies will bloom all summer. Here are some pictures from a recent walk around Philadelphia.

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Bob’s Urban Garden at the End of Summer.

The Soul of a Tree

Last week, we made the trek to the Nakashima Studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania. My in-laws made this trek in 1959 with Shari and my husband in tow. They put a deposit on a slab coffee table and hanging wall cabinet, and were nervous about spending so much money. Who in his right mind would spend $300.00 on furniture with knot holes in it and cracks fixed with inlaid butterfly shaped pieces of wood that didn’t even match?

The furniture was delivered to their suburban home a few months later and they enjoyed it for the next 48 years. That furniture saw a lot of parties and family celebrations. When Milton died, the guest book for the memorial ceremony sat on the cabinet for guests to sign.

When Vicky died, the furniture passed to Shari who enjoyed it every day of the short time she had left. Shari longed to make one last trip to the Nakashima Studio but was too sick. At her memorial ceremony we set a beautiful wooden box holding her ashes on the coffee table along with her glasses.

Last week, as I was walking on the gravel paths that lead from one studio building to the next, I realized that trees tell a story. You can read history in trees if you know how. Nakashima understood the soul of trees; he did not alter or mask a tree’s spirit with detailed carving, paint or heavy hardware. Instead, he engaged in a dialog with it, and listened-really listened-to each whorl, knot and wormhole. George Nakashima’s work is a reminder that imperfection has its own beauty. If we could take those principles and apply them to each other, we would understand that our imperfections are what make us remarkable. And beautiful.